Content providing/acquiring system

ABSTRACT

A content providing apparatus previously receives customer identification information and content identification information as customer reservation information via a terminal device, and sends customer desired content data corresponding to the content identification information to a content obtaining apparatus, so as to provide a customer with the customer desired content data via the content obtaining apparatus more easily, thus making it possible to significantly improve the usability of a content obtaining/providing system. In addition, a content providing server sends three-dimensional images to a portable dedicated terminal in response to a preview request sent from the portable dedicated terminal to display it, and then sends commercial data corresponding to a preview request sent according to the display state of the three-dimensional images to reproduce it, so as to make the customer view and preview the content to allow the customer to accurately judge whether the content meets his/her taste, thus making it possible to select content data lightheartedly.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to a content providing/obtainingsystem, and is suitably applied, for example, to a data providing systemfor providing various content data such as music and movie, and data onvarious kinds of distribution information such as advertisement(hereinafter, these are referred to as distribution data) to customersby using the Internet.

BACKGROUND ART

[0002] In recent years, the Internet being a computer communicationnetwork that had been used by many institutes etc., for research andstudy in the world scale, has been quickly popularized also amongcompanies and customers as a tool for computer communications, by usingit in business such as selling products, the distribution of contentdata, the advertisement of companies and products.

[0003] By using the Internet for business, a customer can buy desiredproducts and can obtain desired content data with a personal computer,for instance, while staying at home. And the customer also can obtainvarious kinds of distribution data such as the advertisement of acompany and products with the personal computer.

[0004] By the way, to obtain content as data, it is necessary to use thedistribution of content data carried out via the Internet by using adevice having a function of recording and reproducing content data andcapable of connecting to the Internet and obtaining content(hereinafter, referred to as content obtaining apparatus).

[0005] Therefore, it is considered that if a data providing systemcapable of providing content data for customers who do not have acontent obtaining apparatus, the usability of the data providing systemcould be significantly improved, as compared with existing systems whichprovide content data using the Internet. Such system, however, has notbeen realized, which is a problem.

[0006] In addition, a data providing server which provides content datausing the Internet,shows customers a title list of content data so thatthey select desired content data from the shown title list.

[0007] However, from only such a title list of content data provided bythe data providing server, customers who uses the Internet do not knowthe contents of the content data unless the customer actually obtainsand reproduces the content data, which means that they realize thatcontent data does not match with their taste after obtaining contentdata. Therefore, content data is not selected lightheartedly, which is aproblem.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of the above pointsand intends to propose a content providing/obtaining system which offerssignificantly improved usability.

[0009] To solve such,problem, in a content providing/obtaining system ofthis invention composed of a content providing apparatus which providescontent data and a content obtaining apparatus which obtains the contentdata provided by the content, providing apparatus, the content providingapparatus is provided with a content data storage means for storing aplurality of content data; a customer reservation information receivingmeans for receiving customer identification information on a customeraccessing the content providing apparatus via a prescribed terminaldevice and content identification information on customer desiredcontent data desired by the customer, as customer reservationinformation; a search means for searching the content data storage meansfor the customer desired content data corresponding to the contentidentification information; and a sending means for sending the customerdesired content data found by the search means, to the content obtainingapparatus. And the content obtaining apparatus is provided with aninterface means capable of accessing the content providing apparatusonly; a content data recording means for recording customer desiredcontent data received via the interface means from the content providingapparatus on a storage medium; and a reproducing/outputting means forreproducing and outputting the customer desired content data from thestorage medium.

[0010] Therefore, according to this invention, the content providingapparatus previously receives customer identification information andcontent identification information as customer reservation informationvia a terminal device, and transmits the customer desired content datacorresponding to the content identification information to the contentobtaining apparatus, so as to provide customer desired content data inaddition to the content obtaining apparatus which can access the contentproviding apparatus only, to a customer more easily, which cansignificantly improve the usability of the content providing/obtainingsystem.

[0011] Further, this invention has been made in view of above points,and intends to propose a content providing/obtaining system which canmake the selection of content data easier.

[0012] In order to solve the above problem, in the contentproviding/obtaining system of this invention composed of a contentproviding apparatus which provides content data and a content obtainingapparatus which obtains content data provided by the content providingapparatus, the content providing apparatus sends the content obtainingapparatus three-dimensional images in response to an image request sentfrom the content obtaining apparatus to make the images displayed, inorder that a customer can select customer desired content data out of aplurality of content data, and then when receiving a preview requestsent from the content obtaining apparatus according to the display stateof the three-dimensional images, sends the preview data of the contentbased on the content data corresponding to the received preview request,to the content obtaining apparatus to make the preview-data displayed.

[0013] Therefore, according to this invention, the customer can confirmthe contents of content by viewing and previewing the content based onthe content data to judge whether the content matches his/her own taste,thus making it possible to select content data lightheartedly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014]FIG. 1 is a conceptual view showing a usage pattern of theInternet in a data providing system.

[0015]FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a usage pattern of aportable dedicated terminal rented to a customer.

[0016]FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a usage pattern of aportable dedicated terminal sold to a customer.

[0017]FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of theconstruction of the data providing system according to this invention.

[0018]FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the construction of a dataproviding system according to a second embodiment.

[0019]FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a data format of header datato be added to content data.

[0020]FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a rental reservation processingprocedure in the data providing system.

[0021]FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a dataproviding system according to a third embodiment.

[0022]FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a data format of contenttransmission request data for obtaining content data from a contentserver.

[0023]FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a rental reservation processingprocedure in the data providing system.

[0024]FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the construction of the dataproviding system according to a fourth embodiment.

[0025]FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing the construction ofadvertiser/company registration information.

[0026]FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing the construction ofcustomer registration information.

[0027]FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing the contract conditionsbetween a customer and an advertiser/company.

[0028]FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing the format of customerregistration information updated by the use of the Internet by acustomer.

[0029]FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing the construction of a matchingpart.

[0030]FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram showing the format ofadvertiser/company introduction information.

[0031]FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram showing the format of customerintroduction information.

[0032]FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram showing the format ofadvertiser/company information updated by the conclusion of a contract.

[0033]FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram showing the format of customerregistration information updated by the conclusion of a contract.

[0034]FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing an advertiser/company registrationprocessing procedure in the data providing system.

[0035]FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing an advertiser/company introductionprocessing procedure in the data providing system.

[0036]FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing an advertiser/company introductionprocessing procedure in the data providing system.

[0037]FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing a contract processing procedure inthe data providing system.

[0038]FIG. 25 is a block diagram showing the construction of a dataproviding system according to a fifth embodiment.

[0039]FIG. 26 is a block diagram showing the construction of a matchingpart.

[0040]FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing an advertiser/company introductionprocessing procedure in the data providing system.

[0041]FIG. 28 is a block diagram showing the construction of a dataproviding system according to a sixth embodiment.

[0042]FIG. 29 is a schematic diagram showing the construction of contentselection screens using three-dimensional virtual reality space imagesrepresenting the shop of an agency.

[0043]FIG. 30 is a schematic diagram for explaining the access tocommercial data in a content selection screen.

[0044]FIG. 31 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration ofcontent selection screens customized in response to customer's requests.

[0045]FIG. 32 is a flowchart showing a content providing processingprocedure using content selection screen data in the data providingsystem.

[0046]FIG. 33 is a flowchart showing the subroutine of the contentproviding processing procedure in the data providing system.

[0047]FIG. 34 is a flowchart showing a customizing processing procedurein the data providing system.

[0048]FIG. 35 is a flowchart showing a content providing processingprocedure using customized screen data in the data providing system.

[0049]FIG. 36 is a conceptual view for explaining the customizing of acontent selection screen according to another embodiment to the sixthembodiment.

[0050]FIG. 37 is a schematic diagram for explaining a method ofproviding content data from a content server to a data providing server.

[0051]FIG. 38 is a block diagram showing the construction of a dataproviding system according to a seventh embodiment.

[0052]FIG. 39 is a schematic diagram for explaining the rental ofcontent data.

[0053]FIG. 40 is a schematic diagram for explaining the request of anequivalent exchange.

[0054]FIG. 41 is a conceptual view for explaining an equivalent exchangeof the content data of a single tune for packaged media of a single CD.

[0055]FIG. 42 is a conceptual view for explaining the delivery ofpackaged media for an equivalent exchange.

[0056]FIG. 43 is a flowchart showing an equivalent exchange processingprocedure in the data providing system.

[0057]FIG. 44 is a flowchart showing the equivalent exchange processingprocedure in the data providing system.

[0058]FIG. 45 is a block diagram showing the construction of a dataproviding system according to an eighth embodiment.

[0059]FIG. 46 is a schematic diagram for explaining the request for anequivalent exchange.

[0060]FIG. 47 is a schematic diagram showing the formats of data tablesin a packaged media database.

[0061]FIG. 48 is a conceptual view for explaining an equivalent exchangeof a plurality of content data for packaged media of an album CD.

[0062]FIG. 49 is a flowchart showing an equivalent exchange processingprocedure in the data providing system.

[0063]FIG. 50 is a flowchart showing the equivalent exchange processingprocedure in the data providing system.

[0064]FIG. 51 is a schematic diagram showing the construction of a dataproviding system according to a ninth embodiment.

[0065]FIG. 52 is a block diagram showing the circuit construction of asystem management server.

[0066]FIG. 53 is a block diagram showing the circuit construction of arequest terminal.

[0067]FIG. 54 is a block diagram showing the circuit construction of adata providing server.

[0068]FIG. 55 is a block diagram showing the circuit construction of apackage providing server.

[0069]FIG. 56 is a block diagram showing the circuit construction of anadvertiser/company server.

[0070]FIG. 57 is a schematic external view showing the construction of aportable dedicated terminal.

[0071]FIG. 58 is a block diagram showing the circuit construction of theportable dedicated terminal.

[0072]FIG. 59 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a dataproviding system according to a tenth embodiment.

[0073]FIG. 60 is a schematic external view showing the construction of aportable dedicated terminal.

[0074]FIG. 61 is a schematic external view showing the construction ofthe back of the terminal.

[0075]FIG. 62 is a block diagram showing the circuit construction of theportable dedicated terminal.

[0076]FIG. 63 is a schematic diagram showing the construction of a dataproviding system according to an eleventh embodiment.

[0077]FIG. 64 is a schematic diagram showing the construction of contentselection screens using three-dimensional virtual reality space image.

[0078]FIG. 65 is a schematic diagram for explaining the reproduction ofcommercial data for each genre on a content selection screen.

[0079]FIG. 66 is a schematic diagram for explaining the reproduction ofcommercial data for each artist on a content selection screen.

[0080]FIG. 67 is a flowchart showing a content providing processingprocedure using content selection screen data in a data providingsystem.

[0081]FIG. 68 is a flowchart showing the subroutine of the contentproviding processing procedure in the data providing system.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0082] An embodiment of the present invention will be described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(1) Usage Pattern of the Internet in Data Providing System

[0083] As shown in FIG. 1, in a data providing system 1, a systemmanagement site 2 which generally control the data providing system cancommunicate via the Internet (not shown) with a customer 3, plural kindsof shops 4A to 4N such as retail stores, rental shops where the customer3 goes (hereinafter, this is referred to as agencies), a sales company 5that sells products, which will be described later, to these agencies 4Ato 4N, and a site for providing distribution data 6 opened by anadvertiser or a company (hereinafter, this is referred to asadvertiser/company site).

[0084] In this case, as shown in FIG. 2 together with FIG. 1, theagencies 4A to 4N are rental shops that sell and rent content (composedof audio data, video data, text data, etc.) such as music, movie, gamesoftware, novel, photograph, comic, as commercial packaged media such asCDs (Compact Discs), DVDs (Digital Versatile Discs) and CD-ROM (CompactDisc-Read Only Memories), books (hard-cover novels, photo books, imagebooks, comic books), or shops that deal in content, like preparatoryschools for selling and renting the content (composed of text data,etc.) of reference books, question books, literatures for entranceexamination, etc., as commercial packaged media of books.

[0085] If an agency 4A-4N desires to use the Internet in a state whereit will start new business or has already started business and are inbusiness, it notifies the system management site 2 of the desire with apersonal computer or the like.

[0086] If the use of the Internet is requested from the agency 4A-4N,the system management site 2 obtains agency information such as name,kind of content dealing in, bank account number from the agency 4A-4N,and registers the agency.

[0087] Then, the system management site 2 provides the agency 4A-4N withplenty of content data, from among various kinds of content data ofmusic, movie, game software, novel, photograph, comic, reference book,question book, literature, etc. that have been previously stored in acontent database (not shown), for each of kinds specified by the agency4A-4N, so that the agency 4A-4N can generate its own content database ofthese content data.

[0088] In addition, the sales company 5 sells portable dedicatedterminals 7A to 7N only for recording and reproducing content data, tothe agencies 4A to 4N according to the instructions from the systemmanagement site 2, and also sells commercial packaged media such as CDs,DVDs, CD-ROMs, books, to be dealt in at the agencies 4A to 4N.

[0089] On the other hand, the customer 3 who wants to use the Internetaccesses the above system management site 2, for instance, by operatinga request terminal (not shown) dedicated to the system management siteinstalled in a stand such as KIOSK, and makes a notification of thedesire of using the Internet.

[0090] If the use of the Internet is wanted by the customer 3, thesystem management site 2 obtains personal information (hereinafter, thisis referred to as customer information) such as his/her name, sex, age,bank account number from the customer 3, and the register the customer,and then generates a customer database 8 of the above customerinformation as customer registration data.

[0091] The agencies 4A to 4N offer two systems, a sales system andrental system, for plural kinds of content data to the customer 3. Whencontent specifying information that specifies desired content data andsystem specifying data representing one of the systems in obtaining theabove content data are given from the customer 3 by using a requestterminal via the system management site 2, the agency 4A-4N accepts thereservation for purchase or rental of the content data in response tothis.

[0092] When accepting the reservation from the customer 3 in thismanner, the agency 4A-4N executes electronic accounting for the purchase(sale price) and the rental (rental term) of the content data with thecustomer registration information on the customer 3 (the account numberof the customer 3) read from the customer database 8 in the systemmanagement site 2. Then, the agency 4A-4N reads the desired content dataaccording to the request from the content database, and records this ina predetermined storage medium provided in the portable dedicatedterminal 7A-7N.

[0093] Now, the agencies 4A to 4N allow the customer 3 to use also theportable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N by one of sales and rentalsystems. When content data is requested, the agency 4A-4N simultaneouslyexecutes electronic accounting for the purchase (sale price) and therental (rental term) of the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N with thecustomer registration information.

[0094] Therefore, for instance, when the customer 3 wants to use theportable dedicated terminal 7A-7N by rental, the agency 4A-4N rents theportable dedicated terminal 7A-7N storing the content data in responseto the request by the customer 3, by directly giving it to the customerat its shop or by delivering it by a delivery company 9 depending on thedelivery system requested by the customer 3.

[0095] Thereby, the customer 3 who previously reserved the purchase orrental of content data and a portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N by therequest terminal can enjoy the content data by reproducing it with theabove portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N as soon as he/she gets theportable dedicated terminal 7A-7N.

[0096] Such portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N can access only the agency4A-4N that has stored the content data, via the system management site 2by a communication function installed therein, and can executeprocessing for the purchase and rental of content data (includingaccounting).

[0097] Therefore, when the customer 3 newly requests the purchase orrental of content data with the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N inrental, the agency 4A-4N can transmit the requested content data to theportable dedicated terminal 7A to 7N in rental via the system managementsite 2, and thereby the content data can be recorded therein. Thus,content data can be easily distributed via the Internet also to thecustomer 3 who does not have a device connectable to the Internet(hereinafter, this is referred to as Internet connectable device) suchas a personal computer, similarly to the customer 3 who has such anInternet connectable device.

[0098] By the way, the system management site 2 relays the request forthe purchase and rental of content data sent from the portable dedicatedterminals 7A to 7N and the request terminal to the agencies 4A to 4N, sothat it updates the customer registration information by adding thecontents of that request to the customer registration information in thecustomer database 8 as additional customer information. Thus, the systemmanagement site 2 can know about customer 3's taste (for example, thegenre of content data that the customer 3 obtained), the state of usingthe Internet, and the like, from the customer registration information.

[0099] Furthermore, the system management site 2 obtainsadvertiser/company information composed of advertiser name informationand company name information, business content information thatrepresents the genre of the above provided distribution data and so on,from advertisers and companies that provide various kinds ofdistribution data at an advertiser/company site 6, and generates anadvertiser/company database 10 of this as advertiser/companyregistration information.

[0100] If the customer 3 sends release permission informationrepresenting that he/she permits to open his/her customer information tothe advertisers and companies, with the portable dedicated terminal7A-7N in rental as customer's permission data, the system managementsite 2 searches the advertiser/company database 10 based on the customerregistration information on the customer 3 who transmitted thecustomer's permission data, to select advertisers and companies thatprovide distribution data meeting the customer 3's taste, and thenintroduces the selected advertisers and companies to the customer 3 viathe portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N.

[0101] As a result, when the customer 3 selects an advertiser/companythat he/she wants to contract with from among the advertisers/companiesintroduced to him/her, the system management site 2 provides theselected advertiser/company with a part of his/her customer registrationinformation as investment information to introduce the customer 3 to theadvertiser/company.

[0102] Thereby, the system management site 2 can allow the customer 3using the Internet and the advertiser/company selected by the abovecustomer 3 to mutually negotiate and close a contract. When the contracthas been concluded, various distribution data such as the advertisementof products desired by the above customer 3 will be sent from theadvertiser/company site 6 to the portable dedicated terminal 7A to 7Nthat the customer 3 rents, via the system management site 2.

[0103] In this manner, in the data providing system 1, only theadvertisers/companies providing customer desired distribution data canbe introduced to the customer 3, and the customer 3 can easily selectdesired one. At the same time, even if the customer 3 does not own anInternet connectable device, he/she can be efficiently provided withonly desired distribution data via the portable dedicated terminal 7A to7N in rental.

[0104] In this connection, if the customer's permission data is sentfrom the customer 3, the system management site 2 introduces thecustomer 3 who is beneficial for the advertiser/company to theadvertiser/company. Therefore, it is designated that when the systemmanagement site 2 transmits the investment information to theadvertiser/company, it receives a consideration for that from the aboveadvertiser/company.

[0105] In addition, when the system management site 2 introducesadvertisers/companies to the customer 3, it generates a customerintroduction database 11 of the investment information on the abovecustomer 3, regardless of the presence or absence of anadvertiser/company that the customer 3 wants to contract with, so as touse the above customer introduction database 11 at the time of selectingadvertisers/companies to be introduced to the customer 3 after that.

[0106] When the customer 3 accessed an agency 4A-4N to request contentdata with the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N via the systemmanagement site 2, the agency 4A-4N sends a content selection screenused to select the above content data, to the portable dedicatedterminal 7A to 7N so that the customer 3 can select desired content dataon that content selection screen.

[0107] The agency 4A-4N customizes the content selection screen to bedisplayed on the display part of the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N,according to requests from the customer 3. Thus, when the content datais requested, a content selection screen which meets the customer 3'srequest can be displayed on the display part of the portable dedicatedterminal 7A-7N.

[0108] In this connection, if the customer 3 specifies his/her favoritecolor on a case while renting the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N,the agency 4A-4N exchanges the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N inrental to another portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N in his/her favoritecolor. Therefore, in addition to customizing software, also the hardwareof a case can be customized.

[0109] When the customer 3 requested the agency 4A-4N to customize thecase of the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N in rental (that is, tochange the color of the case), the agency 4A-4N transfers all data inthe portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N that the customer 3 is renting(that is, the content data, the desired distribution data given from theadvertiser, etc.) to another portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N incustomer 3's specified color, and changes them.

[0110] By the way, when the customer 3 rents content data with aportable dedicated terminal 7A-7N, the agency 4A-4N lets the customer 3arbitrary select the rental term of the above portable dedicatedterminal 7A-7N and the rental term of the content data when the rentalstarts, and these rental terms once selected can be freely extendedaccording to a request by the customer 3.

[0111] The agency 4A-4N monitors the end of the rental term of thecontent data being rented to the customer 3. If the rental term of thecontent data expires before the expiration of the rental term of theportable dedicated terminal 7A-7N, the agency 4A-4N gives thisinformation to the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N being rented to thecustomer 3.

[0112] If terminating the rental of the content data according to theperiod is replied from the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N beingrented to the customer 3 via the system management site 2, the agency4A-4N prompts the customer 3 to bring the portable dedicated terminal7A-7N to the above agency 4A-4N when the customer 3 takes that portablededicated terminal 7A-7N, the content data is deleted from the internalstorage medium, which means the return of the content data.

[0113] On the other hand, if extending the rental term of the contentdata is replied from the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N being rentedto the customer 3 via the system management site 2, then the agency4A-4N monitors the end of that extended rental term of the above contentdata.

[0114] If the rental term of the content data has expired and thecustomer 3 does not bring the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N, forinstance, the agency 4A-4N sends a delete command to delete the contentdata of which the rental term has expired, to the portable, dedicatedterminals 7A to 7N for return. Thus, in the exportable dedicatedterminal 7A-7N, the specified content data is deleted from the internalstorage medium to prevent its illegal use.

[0115] When the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N in rental is returnedfrom the customer 3, the agency 4A-4N deletes the content data from thestorage medium of the above portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N to rentthe portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N again.

[0116] If the customer 3 requests the exchange of the content (that is,content data of a single tune) which the customer 3 owns by purchase orrental with the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N for packaged mediastoring the same content data (that is, single CD), the agency 4A-4Ntransmits equivalent exchange information composed of a price of thetime when the customer 3 obtained the content data (that is, purchaseprice or rental price), the sale price of the packaged media, and thedifference between both these prices, to the portable dedicated terminal7A-7N via the system management site 2.

[0117] Then when the customer 3 notifies the agency 4A-4N of theapproval of exchanging them with the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7Nvia the system management site 2, the agency 4A-4N performs electronicaccounting only for the difference between the price to obtain thecontent data being owned by the customer 3 and the sale price of thepackaged media, read from the customer database 8 of the systemmanagement site 2 because the purchase price or the rental price for thecontent data owned by the customer 3, which is the same as the contentdata stored in the packaged media, has been already paid. Then, theagency 4A-4N gives the packaged media to the customer 3 by hand at theshop or by deliver by the delivery company 9 from the sales company 5.

[0118] In this manner, the agency 4A-4N almost equalizes the contentdata owned by the customer 3 with the packaged media in exchange value,and thereby exchanges the content data for the above packaged media(hereinafter, this exchange is referred to as equivalent exchange).Thereby, it is prevented that the content data bought or rented with theportable dedicated terminal 7A-7N is wasted when that portable dedicatedterminal 7A to 7N is returned, and packaged media can be provided byminimum investment without making the customer 3 wastefully invest inboth of content data and packaged media.

[0119] In this connection, the system management site 2 collects chargesfor the use of the Internet from the customer 3 every time when thecustomer 3 uses the Internet (that is, every time when he/she buys orrents content data or the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N).However, the system management site 2 gives points for a privilege suchas a discount to the customer 3 according to the usage state of theInternet and stores them in the customer database 8.

[0120] Therefore, the agency 4A-4N allows the customer 3 to use thepoints that he/she has obtained, as a part of or all of the payment inthe electronic accounting when the customer 3 buys and rents contentdata and the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N, when the customer 3exchanges content data for packaged media, etc.

[0121] Furthermore, the agency 4A-4N can accept payment by cash and aprepaid card at the shop, instead of the electronic accounting at thetime when the customer 3 buys or rents the portable dedicated terminal7A-7N, when the customer 3 exchanges content data for packaged media orthe like.

[0122] The agency 4A-4N executes the electronic accounting for thepurchase of the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N in response to thepurchase request of the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N given from thecustomer 3 with the request terminal or the portable dedicated terminal7A to 7N in rental via the system management site 2, and then the agency4A-4N directly hands that portable dedicated terminal 7A to 7N to thecustomer 3 or delivers it to the customer 3 from the sales company 5 bythe delivery company 9.

[0123] In this connection, when the customer 3 requests the purchase ofthe portable dedicated terminal 7A to 7N, the agency 4A-4N sells theportable dedicated terminal 7A to 7N having a case in a color specifiedby the customer 3.

[0124] As shown in FIG. 3, the customer 3 who bought the portablededicated terminal 7A-7N can buy or rent desired content data only fromthe agency 4A-4N that sold the portable dedicated terminal 7A to 7N,with the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N via the Internet, and canobtain desired distribution data by contracting with an advertiser and acompany similarly to the case described above with reference to FIG. 2.

[0125] Furthermore, the customer 3 who bought the portable dedicatedterminal 7A to 7N can customize a content selection screen that will besent from the agency 4A-4N when the customer 3 requests the purchase orrental of content data with the above portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N,and also can exchange content data owned by the customer 3 by purchaseor rental, for packaged media storing the same content data, with almostequalizing the content data owned by the customer 3 with the packagedmedia in exchange value.

[0126] In the above data providing system 1, the customer 3 can use theInternet also by using an Internet connectable device such as a personalcomputer instead of the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N, similarly tothe case described above with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

[0127] As described above, in the data providing system 1, both of abusiness system using the Internet and such an existing business systemthat products are practically sold and rented at retail stores or thelike are compatibly used. Therefore, a new business model can berealized, in which the customer 3 who does not have an Internetconnectable device and the agencies 4A to 4N having the feeling ofcrisis in the popularization of the Internet can freely and easily usethe Internet for business.

(2) FIRST EMBODIMENT

[0128] Referring to FIG. 4, reference numeral 50 generally shows a dataproviding system according to a first embodiment, in which a requestterminal 52 corresponding to the customer 3 described above withreference to FIGS. 1 to 3 (that is, the request terminal used by thecustomer 3) and a portable dedicated terminal 53 only for an agency4A-4N corresponding to the portable dedicated terminal 7A-7N describedabove with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 are connected via the Internet to adata providing server 51 corresponding to the system management site 2,agencies 4A to 44N, and sales company 5 described above with referenceto FIGS. 1 to 3.

[0129] The data providing server 51 has a customer database 55 forstoring customer registration information and customer registrationscreen data, a content database 56 for storing a lot of content data,content selection screen data and so on, a packaged media database 57for storing a data table by listing the sale price and rental price ofcontent data, and the sale prices, the titles, etc., of packaged mediathat the content data can be exchanged for, and an advertiser/companydatabase 58 for storing advertiser/company registration informationobtained from advertisers and companies which open advertiser/companysites.

[0130] When registration request data that requests the customerregistration is sent from the request terminal 52, the data providingserver 51 receives this by a receiving part 59, reads the customerregistration screen data from the customer database 55 based on thatregistration request data by an updating part 60, and sends the readcustomer registration screen data from a sending part 61 to the requestterminal 52.

[0131] When customer information entered on the customer registrationscreen based on the customer registration screen data is sent from therequest terminal 52 as customer information data, the data providingserver 51 receives this by the receiving part 59, and stores thecustomer information based on that customer information data as customerregistration information by the updating part 60 to register thecustomer. Thus, the above customer can use the Internet.

[0132] When transmission request data that requests content data is sentfrom the request terminal 52 according to operations by the registeredcustomer, the data providing server 51 receives this by the receivingpart 59, reads the content selection screen data from the contentdatabase 56 based on that transmission request data by a content searchpart 62, and transmits the read content selection screen data from thesending part 61 to the request terminal 52.

[0133] As a result, When desired content data is selectively specifiedon the content selection screen based on the content selection screendata, one of the systems, purchase or rental, for each of the contentdata and a portable dedicated terminal 53 is selectively specified, andthereby reservation data that represents these specified information(hereinafter, this is referred to as customer reservation information)is transmitted from the request terminal 52, the data providing server51 receives this by the receiving part 59.

[0134] At this time, the data providing server 51 reads the specifiedcontent data from the content database 56 based on the reservation databy the content search part 62, and transmits the read content data fromthe sending part 61 to the portable dedicated terminal 53 that is notyet delivered to the customer, to record it therein.

[0135] In this manner, the data providing server 51 can prepare theportable dedicated terminal 53 storing the content data according tocustomer request, for purchase or rental. Thus, the portable dedicatedterminal 53 can be sold and rented to the customer by hand or bydelivery.

[0136] Then, if transmission request data that requests content data issent from the portable dedicated terminal 53 sold or rented to thecustomer, the data providing server 51 receives this by the receivingpart 59, reads content selection screen data from the content database56 based on the transmission request data by the content search part 62,and transmits the read content selection screen data from the sendingpart 61 to the portable dedicated terminal 53 of the customer.

[0137] As a result, when desired content data is specified on thecontent selection screen based on the content selection screen data andinformation on how the content data is to be obtained by purchase orrental is specified, and thereby content specifying data representingthese specified information (hereinafter, this is referred to asspecifying information) is transmitted from the portable dedicatedterminal 53 sold or rented to the customer, the data providing server 51receives this by the receiving part 59.

[0138] At this time, the data providing server 51 reads the specifiedcontent data from the content database 56 based on that contentspecifying data by the content search part 62, and transmits the readcontent data from the sending part 61 to customer's portable dedicatedterminal 53 to record it therein.

[0139] In this manner, the data providing server 51 lets the customeruse content distribution via the Internet lightheartedly and freelyobtain desired content data with the portable dedicated terminal 53.

[0140] By the way, the data providing server 51 issues customeridentification information unique to each customer (hereinafter, this isreferred to as customer ID) at the time of the customer registration,adds this to customer information, and then stores the customerinformation and customer ID in the customer database 55 as customerregistration information to manage the stored customer registrationinformation with the customer ID.

[0141] The data providing server 51 transmits the customer ID issued tothe customer at the time of customer registration, from the sending part61 to the request terminal 52 to notify the customer of this. Afterthat, the data providing server makes the customer use the customer IDfor the time when the customer makes various requests to variousagencies with the request terminal 52 or the portable dedicated terminal53, so as to identify the customer who made a request of these variousagencies by the customer ID.

[0142] When the data providing server 51 receives various data (e.g.content specifying data) from the request terminal 52 or the portablededicated terminal 53 sold or rented to the customer by the receivingpart 59, the data providing server 51 sends the contents of that data(information such as the title and the rental term of the content datathat the customer will buy or rent) to the customer database 55 asadditional customer information by the updating part 60 to add thatadditional customer information to the customer registration informationon the customer who requested the content data, and to thereby updatethe customer registration information.

[0143] Thereby, the data providing server 51 can know customer's tasteand so on based on the customer registration information in the customerdatabase 55.

[0144] Then, if customer's permission data meaning that the customerpermits the data providing server 51 to open the customer information tothe advertisers/companies is transmitted from the portable dedicatedterminal 53 sold or rented to the customer, the data providing server 51receives this by the receiving part 59, reads the customer registrationinformation on the customer who permitted the open of the customerinformation, from the customer database 55 based on that customer'spermission data by a matching part 63, and searches advertiser/companyregistration information in the advertiser/company database 58 based onthe read customer registration information.

[0145] As a result of the retrieval of advertiser/company registrationinformation by the matching part 63, if advertisers/companies thatprovide distribution data meeting customer's taste are selected, thedata providing server 51 generates advertiser/company introduction databased on advertiser/company registration information on the selectedadvertisers/companies, and sends this from the sending part 61 tocustomer's portable dedicated terminal 53, in order to introduce theadvertisers/companies providing distribution data meeting customer'staste, to him/her.

[0146] In this manner, the data providing server 51 allows the customerto easily select an advertiser/company that will provide him/her withdesired distribution data, from among many advertisers/companies, andalso it enables the advertisers/companies to efficiently and exactlyprovide the customer with distribution data as he/she requested.

[0147] If customizing request data to customize a portable dedicatedterminal 53 which the customer bought or rented is transmitted, the dataproviding server 51 receives this by the receiving part 59, readscustomizing registration screen data previously stored in the contentdatabase 56, based on the received customizing request data by thecontent search part 62, and sends this from the sending part 61 to thecustomer's portable dedicated terminal 53.

[0148] As a result, if screen customizing information for the contentselection screen that was entered on the customizing registration screenbased on the customizing registration screen data is sent from theportable dedicated terminal 53 sold or rented to the customer, the dataproviding server 51 receives this by the receiving part 59, and givesthe screen customizing information to the customer database 55 to addthis to the customer registration information on the above customer andto thereby update that customer registration information by the updatingpart 60.

[0149] Thereafter, if transmission request data is sent from theportable dedicated terminal 53 by the customer who requested thecustomizing of the content selection screen, the data providing server51 receives this by the receiving part 59, reads the screen customizinginformation added to his/her customer registration information, from thecustomer database 55 by the updating part 60, and supplies this to thecontent search part 62.

[0150] The data providing server 51 reads the content selection screendata from the content database 56 by the content search part 62,converts this based on the screen customizing information, and sendsthus obtained customized screen data from the sending part 61 tocustomer's portable dedicated terminal 53.

[0151] In this manner, the data providing server 51 customizes thecontent selection screen based on the customized screen every time whentransmission request data is sent from the portable dedicated terminal53 by the customer who requested the data providing server 51 tocustomize the content selection screen. Thus, the customer can selectcontent data on the customized screen.

[0152] In this connection, in the portable dedicated terminal 53 rentedto the customer, also information to customize the color of the case ofthe portable dedicated terminal 53 can be selected on the customizingregistration screen. If case customizing information to specify thecolor of the case is sent from that portable dedicated terminal 53, thedata providing server 51 receives this by the receiving part 59, andsupplies this to the customer database 55, and adds this to the customerregistration information on the above customer and thereby update thecustomer registration information by the updating part 60.

[0153] Thus, thereafter, when the data providing server 51 rents orsells the portable dedicated terminal 53 to the customer, it hands theportable dedicated terminal 53 in a color specified by the casecustomizing information.

[0154] Furthermore, if equivalent exchange request data to request toequivalently exchange the content data (e.g. single tune) bought orbeing rented for packaged media (e.g. single CD) is sent from theportable dedicated terminal 53 sold or rented to the customer, the dataproviding server 51 receives this by the receiving part 59.

[0155] The data providing server 51 reads the customer registrationinformation on the customer requesting the equivalent exchange, from thecustomer database 55 based on that equivalent exchange request data anddetects the usage pattern of the content data requested to beequivalently exchanged (that is, purchase or rental) by the updatingpart 60. Then, the data providing server 51 searches a data table in thepackaged media database 57 based on that equivalent exchange requestdata and the result detected by the updating part 60, by a packagesearch part 64. Thereby, the price of the content data that the customerowns, and the sale price and the title of the packaged media storing theabove content data are detected for the equivalent exchange.

[0156] Then, the data providing server 51 calculates a balance betweenthus detected price of the content data that the customer owns and saleprice of the packaged media by the package search part 64, and transmitsthe above calculated balance from the sending part 61 to customer'sportable dedicated terminal 53 as search result information, with theseprice of the content data and sale price and title of the packagedmedia.

[0157] The purchase price or the rental price of the content data storedin the packaged media has been already paid by the customer in the formof purchase or rental with the portable dedicated terminal 53. Thus, ifexchange acceptance data to accept the equivalent exchange is sent fromthe portable dedicated terminal 53 sold or rented to the customer, thedata providing server 51 electronically perform accounting only for thebalance between the price of the content data that the customer owns andthe sale price of the packaged media. And then, the customer gets thepackaged media directly or by delivery.

[0158] In this manner, in the data providing server 51, content datathat the customer owns and the packaged media to be exchanged are almostequalized in exchange value, and then they are equivalently exchanged.Therefore, the data providing server 51 can provide the customer withthe packaged media by exchanging the content data that the customerbought or rented with the portable dedicated terminal 53 for thepackaged media by a minimum investment.

[0159] In this connection, the data providing server 51 issues points togive a privilege such as discount to the customer according to the usagestate by a point issuing part, not shown, every time when the customeruses the Internet with the request terminal 52 or the portable dedicatedterminal 53. The above issued points are transmitted to the customerdatabase 55 by the updating part 60, so as to be sequentially added tothe customer registration information on the customer and to therebyupdate the above customer registration information.

[0160] When the customer requested the use of points in the equivalentexchange or the like, instead of money, the data providing server 51balances the difference between the price of the content data that thecustomer owns and the sale price of the packaged media by using thepoints issued to the above customer.

[0161] Furthermore, when content data has been rented to the customer,the data providing server 51 constantly searches the customerregistration information in the customer database 55 by the updatingpart 60 to detect whether or not the rental term of the content data inrental expires. If the rental term of the above content data expiressoon, the data providing server 51, sends confirmation screen data toconfirm whether the rental finishes, from the sending part 61 tocustomer's portable dedicated terminal 53.

[0162] If a rental finish notification indicating that the rental of thecontent data will finish according to the term is sent from the portablededicated terminal 53 sold or rented to the customer, the data providingserver 51 receives this by the receiving part 59, adds the rental finishnotification to the corresponding customer registration information inthe customer database 55 and thereby updates the customer registrationinformation by the updating part 60. And the data providing server 51sends coming to shop request screen data to prompt the customer toreturn the content data (that is, to delete the content data from theportable dedicated terminal 53) at the agency, from the sending part 61to the above portable dedicated terminal 53.

[0163] On the contrary, as a result of sending the confirmation screendata to the portable dedicated terminal 53, if a rental extensionnotification to extend the rental term of the content data istransmitted, the data providing server 51 receives this by the receivingpart 59, adds the rental extension notification to the correspondingcustomer registration information in the customer database 55 andthereby updates the customer registration information by the updatingpart 60.

[0164] If its rental term has expired and the content data has not beenreturned, the data providing server 51 adds delete information toforcibly delete the content data to the corresponding customerregistration information in the customer database 55 and updates thecustomer registration information by the updating part 60. At the sametime, the data providing server 51 transmits the delete command of thecontent data of which the rental term has expired, from the sending part61 to the portable dedicated terminal 53, to delete that content data inthe above portable dedicated terminal 53.

[0165] On the other hand, when the customer enters a customerregistration request via an operating part 70, the request terminal 52generates registration request data representing that registrationrequest, by a request data generating part 71, and sends this from asending part 72 to the data providing server 51.

[0166] As a result, when the request terminal 52 receives the customerregistration screen data from the data providing server 51 by areceiving part 73, it transmits the received customer registrationscreen data from a display control part 74 to a display part 75, todisplay the customer registration screen based on the customerregistration screen data.

[0167] Then, in the request terminal 52, when customer information isentered on the customer registration screen by the operations of theoperating part 70 by the customer, the request terminal 52 sends thatcustomer information from the sending part 72 to the data providingserver 51 as customer information data by the request data generatingpart 71.

[0168] If a request for content data is entered by the customer with theoperating part 70, the request terminal 52 generates transmissionrequest data representing the transmission request by the request datagenerating part 71, and sends the generated transmission request datafrom the sending part 72 to the data providing server 51.

[0169] As a result, when the request terminal 52 receives the contentselection screen data from the data providing server 51 by the receivingpart 73, the request terminal 52 transmits the received contentselection screen data from the display control part 74 to the displaypart 75 to display the content selection screen based on the contentselection screen data.

[0170] Then, when the customer enters customer reservation informationon the content selection screen by operating the operating part 70, therequest terminal 52 generates reservation data by the request datagenerating part 71, and sends this from the sending part 72 to the dataproviding server 51.

[0171] Thereby, the portable dedicated terminal 53 before being sold orrented to the customer receives the content data sent from the dataproviding server 51, by a receiving part 80, and records this on astorage medium 82 by a recording control part 81, so that the portablededicated terminal 53 will be sold and rented to the customer in thisstate.

[0172] In the portable dedicated terminal 53 that has been sold andrented to the customer, if a reproduction command is entered by thecustomer with an operating part 83, the portable dedicated terminal 53reproduces the content data from the storage medium 82 based on thatreproduction command by a reproduction control part 84, and transmitsthe above reproduced content data to a reproducing part 85 composed of adisplay control part, a display part and a speaker, etc, so as to makethe customer enjoy the content.

[0173] If a request for transmission of content data is entered by thecustomer with the operating part 83, the portable dedicated terminal 53generates transmission request data representing that transmissionrequest by a request data generating part 86, and sends the abovegenerated transmission request data from a sending part 87 to the dataproviding server 51.

[0174] As a result, the portable dedicated terminal 53 receives contentselection screen data from the data providing server 51 *by thereceiving part 80, it transmits this to the reproducing part 85 todisplay a content selection screen based on the content selection screendata.

[0175] Then, if content data is selectively specified (includingspecification of purchase or rental) on the content selection screenaccording to the operations of the operating part 83, the portablededicated terminal 53 generates content specifying data by the requestdata generating part 86, and transmits this from the sending part 87 tothe data providing server 51.

[0176] When the portable dedicated terminal 53 receives the content datafrom the data providing server 51 by the receiving part 80, the portablededicated terminal 53 records this on the storage medium 82 by therecording control part 81. Thus, thereafter, that content data will bereproduced from the storage medium 82 by a reproduction control part 84according to the operations of the operating part 83.

[0177] Furthermore, if the customer permits the release of the customerinformation with the operating part 83, the portable dedicated terminal53 generates customer's permission data representing the permission, bythe request data generating part 86, and sends this from the sendingpart 87 to the data providing server 51.

[0178] As a result, when the portable dedicated terminal 53 receivesadvertiser/company introduction data from the data providing server 51by the receiving part 80, the portable dedicated terminal 53 transmitsthe received advertiser/company introduction data to the reproducingpart 85 to display it. In this state, the customer selects a desiredadvertiser/company by operating the operating part 83.

[0179] Then, the portable dedicated terminal 53 sends information on theadvertiser and company selected by the customer to the data providingserver 51 via the request data generating part 86 and the sending part87 in order. As a result, if the customer concludes a contract with theadvertiser/company selected, the portable dedicated terminal 53 receivesdesired distribution data such as advertisement, sent from theadvertiser/company site, by the receiving part 80, and records this onthe storage medium 82 by the recording control part 81.

[0180] The portable dedicated terminal 53 reproduces that distributiondata from the storage medium 82 by the reproduction control part 84according to the operations of the operating part 83, and transmits theabove reproduced distribution data to the reproducing part 85. Thus, thecustomer can enjoy the distribution data given from theadvertiser/company site.

[0181] In addition to this, if the customer enters a customizing requestwith the operating part 83, the portable dedicated terminal 53 generatescustomizing request data representing the customizing request by therequest data generating part 86, and sends this from the sending part 87to the data providing server 51.

[0182] As a result, when the portable dedicated terminal 53 receivescustomizing registration screen data from the data providing server 51by the receiving part 80, the portable dedicated terminal 53 transmitsthis to the reproducing part 85 to display a customizing registrationscreen based on that customizing registration screen data.

[0183] If screen customizing information to customize the contentselection screen is entered on the customizing registration screenaccording to the operations of the operating part 83, the portablededicated terminal 53 sends the entered screen customizing informationto the data providing server 51 sequentially via the request datagenerating part 86 and the sending part 87.

[0184] Also case customizing information to customize the color of thecase of the portable dedicated terminal 53 can be entered on thecustomizing registration screen according to the operations of theoperating part 83. If that case customizing information is entered, theportable dedicated terminal 53 also sends this from the sending part 87to the data providing server 51 via the request data generating part 86.

[0185] In this manner, the portable dedicated terminal 53 can requestthe data providing server 51 to customize the content selection screenand the case of the portable dedicated terminal 53. Therefore, after thecustomer requested such customizing, he/she can selectively specifycontent data with the customized select screen, which was obtained byprocessing the content selection screen based on the screen customizinginformation, displayed by the reproducing part 85, and also he/she canexchange the portable dedicated terminal 53 for a portable dedicatedterminal 53 in a color that he/she specified.

[0186] Furthermore, in the portable dedicated terminal 53, if thecustomer enters an equivalent exchange request with the operating part83, the portable dedicated terminal 53 generates equivalent exchangerequest data representing that equivalent exchange request by therequest data generating part 86, and sends this from the sending part 87to the data providing server 51.

[0187] As a result, if search result information on the equivalentexchange is sent from the data providing server 51, the portablededicated terminal 53 receives this by the receiving part 80, andtransmits this to the reproducing part 85 to display the purchase. Orrental price of the content data that the customer owns by purchase orrental, the sale price and title of packaged media, and the differencebetween these prices, based on that search result information.

[0188] If customer approves the equivalent exchange with the operatingpart 83, the portable dedicated terminal 53 generates exchange approvaldata representing the approval by the request data generating part 86,and sends this from the sending part 87 to the data providing server 51.Then, electronic accounting for the difference between the price of thecontent data that the customer owns and the sale price of the packagedmedia is performed by a method that the customer specified (that is,payment by money or payment by points). Therefore, the customer canobtain the packaged media by a minimum investment.

[0189] In this connection, if confirmation screen data for content dataof which the rental term expires soon is sent from the data providingserver 51, the portable dedicated terminal 53 receives this by thereceiving part 80, and transmits this to the reproducing part 85 todisplay a confirmation screen based on that confirmation screen data, tothereby notify the customer that the rental term of the content datawill expires soon, on the above confirmation screen.

[0190] Then, at this time, if the termination or extension of the rentalterm is specified by the customer with the operating part 83, theportable dedicated terminal 53 notifies the data providing server 51 ofit from the sending part 87 via the request data generating part 86.

[0191] Furthermore, if the rental term of the content data has expiredbefore the content data is returned and a command to delete the contentdata is sent from the data providing server 51, the portable dedicatedterminal 53 receives this by the receiving part 80, and deletes thecontent data of which the rental term has expired from the storagemedium 82 based on that delete command by the recording control part 81.Thus, illegal use (reproduction) of the content data can be prevented.

[0192] According to the above configuration, in this data providingsystem 50, content data specified by the customer is recorded in aportable dedicated terminal 53, which is only for a agency specified bythe above customer, according to reservation data sent from a requestterminal 52 that the customer operates by the data providing server 51,and the portable dedicated terminal 53 are sold or rented to thecustomer.

[0193] Then, if content specifying data is given from the customer withthe portable dedicated terminal 53, this data providing server 51 readscontent data from the content database 56 according to the contentspecifying data, and sends the read content data to that portablededicated terminal 53 to record this therein.

[0194] Furthermore, in the data providing server 51, customerregistration information on the customer who bought or is renting theportable dedicated terminal 53 is registered in the customer database55. The customer registration information is updated according to theusage state of the portable dedicated terminal 53 every time when theabove customer uses the portable dedicated terminal 53 for the purchaseor the rental of content data. If the customer permits the release ofthe customer information with the portable dedicated terminal 53, thedata providing server 51 searches advertiser/company registrationinformation in the advertiser/company database 58 based on the customerregistration information, to select advertisers/companies that providedistribution data meeting customer's taste to introduce them to thecustomer.

[0195] If customizing of a content selection screen is requested fromthe customer with the portable dedicated terminal 53, the data providingserver 51 customizes the content selection screen according to therequest, and provides the customer portable dedicated terminal 53 withthe customized screen obtained by customizing the above contentselection screen to make the customer select content data.

[0196] In addition, if the equivalent exchange of content data bought orrented for packaged media is requested from the customer with theportable dedicated terminal 53, the data providing server 51 providesthe customer with the packaged media, under the payment of thedifference between the price of the content data that the customer ownsand the sale price of the packaged media.

[0197] Accordingly, in this data providing system 50, even if a customerdoes not have a device capable of accessing the Internet, he/she canpreviously reserve the purchase or rental of a portable dedicatedterminal 53 capable of recording and reproducing content data, with arequest terminal 52 installed in a KIOSK or the like, and after thecustomer gets the reserved portable dedicated terminal 53, he/she canobtain content data which is distributed, with the portable dedicatedterminal 53.

[0198] In this data providing system 50, by using that portablededicated terminal 53, the customer can easily select content data on acustomized screen that has been customized according to his/her request,and also the customer can exchange content data obtained by distributionfor packaged media storing the content data by a minimum investment.Furthermore, the customer can easily select an advertiser/company thatprovides distribution data meeting his/her own taste from manyadvertiser/company sites, so as to use the distribution of thedistribution data.

[0199] As a result, in the data providing system 50, also customers whodo not have a device capable of accessing the Internet can easily usethe system while sufficiently enjoying the convenience of the Internet.

[0200] In this data providing system 50, customers use the portablededicated terminal 53, which is only for an agency, by purchase andrental. It can easily get the customers who use agencies as well as theInternet. Thus, the agencies can easily use and can enter into theInternet.

[0201] According to the above configuration, in the data providingserver 51, the portable dedicated terminal 53, which is only for anagency, capable of recording and reproducing content data is sold orrented to a customer according to reservation data sent from the requestterminal 52. Content data is distributed according to content specifyingdata sent from the above sold or rented portable dedicated terminal 53and is recorded in that portable dedicated terminal 53. In addition,advertisers/companies are selected based on customer registrationinformation according to customer's permission sent from that portablededicated terminal 53, to be introduced to the customer. A contentselection screen is customized according to a customizing request sentfrom the above portable dedicated terminal 53, and given to thatportable dedicated terminal 53. And content data that the customer ownsby distribution and packaged media'storing the above content data arealmost equalized in exchange value in order to equivalently exchangethem, according to an equivalent exchange request sent from thatportable dedicated terminal 53. Thereby, customers who do not have anInternet accessible device can easily use the system while sufficientlyenjoying the convenience of the Internet. And the system allows anagency to easily get customers, by the portable dedicated terminals 53which are only for the agency using the Internet. Thus, a data providingsystem that can further popularize the Internet can be realized.

[0202] Note that, in the aforementioned first embodiment, the customerrequests customer registration and the purchase or rental of theportable dedicated terminal 53 with the request terminal 52. Thisinvention, however, is not only limited to this and also the customermay request the customer registration and the purchase or rental of theportable dedicated terminal 53 with a device capable of accessing theInternet such as a personal computer, instead of the request terminal52. Thereby, not only customers who do not a device capable of accessingthe Internet but also customers who have such devices can enjoy theconvenience of the Internet more than now by using the portablededicated terminal 53.

(3) SECOND EMBODIMENT

[0203]FIG. 5 shows a data providing system 100 according to a secondembodiment. A portable dedicated terminal 102 similar to the portablededicated terminals 7A to 7N described above with reference to FIGS. 1to 3 is directly connected to a data providing server 101 thatcorresponds to the system management site 2 and the agencies 4A to 4Ndescribed above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. A request terminal 103that corresponds to the customer 3 described above with reference toFIGS. 1 to 3 (that is, request terminal used by the customer 3) and asettlement processing server 104 are connected to the above dataproviding server 101 via the Internet 105.

[0204] The data providing server 101 has a customer database 110 and acontent database 111. The customer database 110 stores customerregistration information generated by executing a customer registrationsimilar to the customer registration described above with reference toFIGS. 1 to 4 (composed of customer's name, customer ID, bank accountnumber, etc.) Furthermore, the data providing server 101 stores a lot ofcontent data in the content database 111, and also a data tablegenerated by listing content additional information composed of contentidentification information unique to each of the content data(hereinafter, this is referred to as content ID), titles (for examplethe title of a tune), prices (sale price and rental price), etc.

[0205] If customer reservation information to reserve the rental ofcontent data (hereinafter, specially this is referred to as rentalreservation data) is sent as rental reservation request data from therequest terminal 103 via the Internet 105 by operations by the customerwanting the rental of the content data, the data providing server 101receives this by a receiving part 115, converts the received rentalreservation request data into recording control data by an accountingpart 116, and transmits this to a recording control part 117.

[0206] Now, the data providing server 101 generates rental reservationacceptance data including dedicated terminal identification information(hereinafter, this is referred to as dedicated terminal ID) unique tothe portable dedicated terminal 102 for recording the content data thatthe customer requested to rent, by the recording control part 117, andtransmits this to the request terminal 103 from a sending part 118 viathe Internet 105 to notify the customer that it has accepted thereservation of the rental of the customer desired content data.

[0207] In addition, the data providing server 101 reads the content datarequested to be rented by, the customer, from the content database 111based on the recording control data by the recording control part 117,and sends the read content data to the portable dedicated terminal 102having the dedicated terminal ID which the customer was notified of.

[0208] Thereby, the data providing server 101 records the customerdesired content data on a storage medium installed in that portablededicated terminal 102.

[0209] In this manner, the data providing server 101 records the contentdata requested by the customer on the portable dedicated terminal 102having a content data recording/reproducing function. Then, when thecustomer comes to, for example, an agency having the above dataproviding server 101 installed therein, the content data requested to berented is handed to the customer with the portable dedicated terminal102.

[0210] Therefore, in the data providing server 101, content data can berented to the customer with the portable dedicated terminal 102according to a rental term, so that the customer can enjoy the contentdata by reproducing it with the portable dedicated terminal 102.

[0211] By the way, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, rental reservation requestdata D2 sent from the request terminal 103 has information such ascustomer's name, customer ID, password, the title of content data D1requested to be rented, rental term, payment method of rental charge(payment by cash or prepaid card at shop, payment by prepaid card withrequest terminal, payment by credit).

[0212] When the data providing server 101 receives the rentalreservation request data D2 from the request terminal 103 by thereceiving part 115, the data providing server 101 extracts informationon the payment method of the rental charge (hereinafter, this isreferred to as payment data) from the rental reservation request data D2by the accounting part 116.

[0213] In a case where the payment information specifies payment bycredit, the data providing server 101 reads the customer registrationinformation on the customer who is requesting to rent the content dataD1, from the content database 110 based on the customer ID included inthe rental reservation request data D2 by the accounting part 116, andsearches a data table in the content database 111 based on the title ofthe content data D1 included in the above rental reservation requestdata D2 to read the additional information on the content data D1requested to be rented by the customer.

[0214] The data providing server 101 executes accounting based on therental charge for the portable dedicated terminal 102 and the bankaccount number of the agency, which have been previously stored, and therental reservation request data D2, the customer registrationinformation, and the additional information on the content data D1, bythe accounting part 116. Thereby, the data providing server 101generates accounting information representing the amount of charge tothe customer according to the rental term of the content data D1, theaccount numbers of the agency and the customer, etc., and sends thisfrom the sending part 118 to the settlement processing server 104 viathe Internet 105.

[0215] When the electronic settlement processing based on the accountinginformation completes and a settlement completion notification is sentfrom the settlement processing server 104, the data providing server 101receives this by the receiving part 115, and recognizes this by theaccounting part 116.

[0216] Thereby, the data providing server 101 generates recordingcontrol data D3 by adding the agency ID to the rental reservationrequest data D2 with the accounting part 116, and sends the generatedrecording control data D3 to the recording control part 117.

[0217] In this connection, when the recording control data D3 isgenerated by the accounting part 116, the data providing server 101changes customer's name included in the rental reservation request dataD2 to the coded customer's name registered as the customer registrationinformation, changes the title of the content data D1 to the content ID,codes the number of days of the rental term, and adds customer's accountnumber.

[0218] When the recording control data D3 is transmitted from theaccounting part 116 to the recording control part 117, the dataproviding server 101 generates rental reservation acceptance data by therecording control part 117, and sends this from the sending part 118 tothe request terminal 103.

[0219] Then, the data providing server 101 generates header data D4based on the recording control data D3 by adding the dedicated terminalID of the portable dedicated terminal 102 which stores the content dataD1 requested to be rented by the customer, and copy history informationshowing the copy history at the time when the above content data D1 isillegally copied, to the above recording control data D3 by therecording control part 117. Then, the data providing server 101 adds theheader data D4 to the content data D1 requested to be rented by thecustomer and records this in the portable dedicated terminal 102.

[0220] Thereby, the data providing server 101 can easily recognize fromthe header data D4 that the portable dedicated terminal 102 and thecontent data D1 rented to the customer were rented at its own shop.

[0221] Furthermore, the portable dedicated terminal 102 rented to thecustomer monitors whether or not the rental term of the content data D1has expired, according to information on the rental term included in theheader data D4. In the case where the rental term has passed and thecontent data D1 has not been returned (that is, in the case where thecontent data D1 was not returned with the portable dedicated terminal102), the portable dedicated terminal 102 does not allow the contentdata D1 to be reproduced, which prevents the rented content data D1 frombeing illegally used after the expiration of the rental term.

[0222] Furthermore, when the content data D1 in rental was illegallycopied while it is rented to the customer, the portable dedicatedterminal 102 records the number of copies as copy history information inthe header data D4. Thereby, when the portable dedicated terminal 102 isreturned to the agency, the agency can know from the copy historyinformation in the header data D4 that the customer illegally copied thecontent data D1.

[0223] On the other hand, in the case where payment by a prepaid cardwith the request terminal 103 is specified by the rental reservationrequest data D2 sent from the request terminal 103, the data providingserver 101 executes accounting based on the rental charge for theportable dedicated terminal 102, the rental reservation request data D2and the additional information on the content data D1, by the accountingpart 116. The data providing server 101 calculates the amount of chargeto the customer according to the rental term of the content data D1, andsends information on the calculated amount of charge as accounting datafrom the sending part 118 to the request terminal 103 via the Internet105.

[0224] When the data providing'server 101 receives payment by prepaidcompletion data sent from the request, terminal 103 by the receivingpart 115 after the payment by prepaid card completes based on theaccounting data, the data providing server 101 generates recordingcontrol data D3 by adding the agency ID to the rental reservationrequest data D2 storing information representing that the payment byprepaid card has completed with the request terminal 103, instead ofcustomer's account number, by the accounting part 116, and transmitsthis to the recording control part 117.

[0225] When the recording control data D3 is transmitted from theaccounting part 116 to the recording control part 117, the dataproviding server 101 sends rental reservation acceptance data from thesending part 118 to the request terminal 103 by the recording controlpart 117, similarly to the above. At the same time, the data providingserver 101 generates header data D4 based on that recording control dataD3, and records this in the portable dedicated terminal 102 with thecontent data D1.

[0226] Furthermore, when payment by cash or a prepaid card at the shopis specified by the rental reservation request data D2 sent from therequest terminal 103, the data providing server 101 generates recordingcontrol data D3 by adding the agency ID to the rental reservationrequest data D2 including information representing that the payment bycash or prepaid card at the shop has completed instead of customer'saccount number, by the accounting part 116, and sends this to therecording control part 117.

[0227] Also in this case, the data providing server 101 transmits therecording control data D3 from the accounting part 116 to the recordingcontrol part 117 similarly to the above, and sends rental reservationacceptance data from the sending part 118 to the request terminal 103 bythe above recording control part 117. At the same time, the dataproviding server 101 generates header data D4 based on that recordingcontrol data D3, and records this in the portable dedicated terminal 102with the content data D1.

[0228] In this connection, in the data providing server 101, a slot fora prepaid card is provided on the accounting part 116. When the paymentby prepaid card at a shop is specified, an amount of charge to thecustomer according to the rental term of the content data D1 has beencomputed by the accounting part 116. And when the customer insertshis/her prepaid card into the slot when the customer visits to receivethe portable dedicated terminal 102, the prepaid card settles the rentalcharge to the customer.

[0229] Note that, the above data providing server 101 also can cope withthe case where the customer comes to the shop and requested to rentcontent data D1. In this case, a clerk in the shop enters rentalinformation having the contents similar to the rental reservationrequest data D2 described above with reference to FIG. 6, with anoperational information input part, in order to transmit the enteredrental information to the accounting part 116. Thus, the content data D1is recorded in the portable dedicated terminal 102 similarly to theaforementioned rental reservation with the request terminal 103.

[0230] On the other hand, if rental reservation information similar tothe contents of the aforementioned rental reservation request data D2 isentered by the customer with an operational information input part 120,the request terminal 102 (FIG. 5) generates the aforementioned rentalreservation request data D2 based on that rental reservation data by arequest data generating part 112 via an operational information judgingpart 121, and sends this from a sending part 123 to the data providingserver 101 via the Internet 105.

[0231] When rental reservation acceptance data is sent from the dataproviding server 101 via the Internet 105, the request terminal 103receives this by a receiving part 124, and transmits this from a judgingpart 125 to a display part 126 to notify the customer of the completionof the acceptance of the rental reservation of the desired content datarequested by the customer, and also of the dedicated terminal ID of theportable dedicated terminal 102 that will be rented with the abovecontent data D1.

[0232] In this connection, in the request terminal 103, an accountingpart 127 has a slot for a prepaid card. When payment by prepaid cardwith the above request terminal 103 is specified by the customer withthe operational information input part 120, the operational informationjudging part 121 recognizes this and notifies the accounting part 127 ofthis.

[0233] The request terminal 103 receives account data which was sent inresponse to sending the rental reservation request data D2 to the dataproviding server 101, by the receiving part 124, recognizes the receivedaccount data by the judging part 125, and transmits this to theaccounting part 127.

[0234] When a prepaid card owned by the customer is inserted into theslot of the accounting part 127, the request terminal 103 settles therental charge to the customer by that prepaid card based on the accountdata by the above accounting part 127. And then, the request terminal103 generates payment-by-prepaid completion data, and sends this fromthe sending part 123 to the data providing server 101 via the Internet105.

[0235] Now, a rental reservation processing procedure by the dataproviding server 101 and the request terminal 103 in the data providingsystem 100 will be described except for payment for a rental charge(that is, accounting). As shown in FIG. 7 (A), the request terminal 103enters routine RT1 from the starting step, and proceeds to step SP1.

[0236] In step SP1, the request terminal 103 waits for the customer toenter rental reservation information with the operational informationinput part 120. When the rental reservation information is entered, therequest terminal 103 proceeds to the next step SP2 to generate rentalreservation request data D2 by the request data generating part 122,sends this from the sending part 123 to the data providing server 101via the Internet 105, and precedes to step SP3.

[0237] At this time, as shown in FIG. 7(B), the data providing server101 enters routine RT2 from the starting step, and proceeds to the nextstep SP11. In step SP11, the data providing server 101 waits for rentalreservation request data D2 to be transmitted from the request terminal103. When the data providing server.101 receives the rental reservationrequest data D2 sent from the request terminal 103, by a receiving part115, the data providing server 101 proceeds to step SP12.

[0238] In step SP12, the data providing server 101 generates recordingcontrol data D3 with the rental reservation request data D2 by theaccounting part 116, and proceeds to the next step SP13.

[0239] In step SP13, the data providing server 101 generates rentalreservation acceptance data and sends this from the sending part 118 tothe request terminal 103 via the Internet 105, and proceeds to stepSP14.

[0240] At this time, in step SP3, the request terminal 103 waits forrental reservation acceptance data to be transmitted from the dataproviding server 101. When the request terminal 103 receives the rentalreservation acceptance data from the data providing server 101 with thereceiving part 124 in step SP3, the request terminal 103 proceeds to thenext step SP4.

[0241] In step SP4, the request terminal 103 transmits the rentalreservation acceptance data and displays this on the display part 126 tonotify the customer of the completion of the acceptance of the rentalreservation of the content data D1 with the dedicated terminal ID of theportable dedicated terminal 102 that will be rented with the abovecontent data D1, and proceeds to the next step SP5 to finish theprocessing in the above request terminal 103.

[0242] On the other hand, in step SP14, the data providing server 101generates header data D4 based on the recording control data D3 andproceeds to step SP15. In step SP15, the data providing server 101 addsthe header data D4 to the content data D1 requested by the customer bythe recording control part 117 and records this on the storage medium inthe portable dedicated terminal 102. Then, the data providing server 101proceeds to step SP16 to finish the processing in the above dataproviding server 101. In this manner, the data providing system 100finishes the rental reservation processing for the content data D1.

[0243] According to the above configuration, in this data providingsystem 100, a lot of content data D1 has been stored in the contentdatabase 111 in the data providing server 101 installed at an agency.When the customer requests the reservation of the rental of desiredcontent data D1 with the request terminal 103, the data providing server101 records that content data D1 in the portable dedicated terminal 102.And then, when the customer comes to the agency, the reserved contentdata D1 is rented to the customer with the portable dedicated terminal102.

[0244] Accordingly, in this data providing system 100, even if thecustomer does not have a device having a function to record andreproduce content data D1 and is capable of accessing the Internet tothe content data D1, like a personal computer (hereinafter, this isreferred to as content obtaining apparatus), an agency can easilyprovide the customer with content as data with the portable dedicatedterminal 102.

[0245] Furthermore, in the data providing system 100, when content dataD1 is to be rented, the customer can previously reserve the rental ofthe desired content data D1 with the distant request terminal 103.Therefore, an agency can smoothly hand the portable dedicated terminal102 with the content data D1 to the customer who comes to the agencywithout making the customer wait during the recording of the contentdata D1 in the portable dedicated terminal 102.

[0246] Moreover, in this data providing system 100, also when thecustomer reserves the rental of the content data D1 by operating therequest terminal 103, the customer is notified of the acceptance of therental reservation at a time point that the recording control data D3 torecord the content data D1 in the portable dedicated terminal 102 isgenerated. Therefore, the customer can make a reservation for the rentalof the content data D1 without waiting in front of the portablededicated terminal 102 while the content data D1 is recorded in theportable dedicated terminal 102.

[0247] In this connection, it has been already described that a contentobtaining apparatus is necessary to use the distribution of content dataD1 via the Internet 105. However, knowledge of the Internet 105 used inthat distribution of the content data D1 is also needed. Therefore, aperson who does not have knowledge of the Internet 105 is sometimes hardto easily receive the distribution of the content data D1.

[0248] To obviate this, if the customer uses the data providing system100 according to the second embodiment, although he/she uses theInternet 105 to reserve the rental of the content data D1, he/shereserves the rental of the content data D1 using the request terminal103 which is used only to directly access a data providing server 151with simple operations. Therefore, in addition to the customers who donot have a content obtaining apparatus, the customers who do not haveknowledge of the Internet 105 can easily obtain content data D1.

[0249] According to the above configuration, the customer reserves therental of desired content data D1 at the data providing server 101 thathas the content database 111 storing a lot of content data D1, with therequest terminal 103. That requested content data D1 is recorded in theportable dedicated terminal 102 by the above data providing server 101,and the portable dedicated terminal 102 is rented to the customer withthe above content data D1, which can provide the customer who does nothave a content obtaining apparatus with content data much easily. Thus,a data providing system which offers significantly improved usabilitycan be realized.

[0250] Note that, in the aforementioned second embodiment, the portablededicated terminal 102 which is only for an agency is rented withcontent data D1. This invention, however, is not limited to this and theportable dedicated terminal 102 may be sold to the customer and thecontent data D1 may be recorded in the above portable dedicated terminal102 for rental or for purchase. Thereby, when the customer requests thepurchase of content data D1, the content data D1 likewise bought can berecorded and stored in the portable dedicated terminal 102 that thecustomer had bought. Thus, the usability of the data providing system100 can be further improved.

[0251] In the aforementioned second embodiment, content data D1requested to be rented by the customer is recorded in the portablededicated terminal 102 which is only for an agency. This invention,however, is not limited to this and content data D1 that the customerwants to rent or buy may be recorded in a portable recording/reproducingdevice such as a portable telephone, a portable MD (Mini Disc trademarkby Sony Corp.) player that the customer carried. Thereby, also customerswho have a content obtaining apparatus can easily use the data providingsystem, and the versatility of the above data providing system can beimproved.

[0252] Furthermore, in the aforementioned second embodiment, contentdata D1 is recorded in the portable dedicated terminal 102 at an agencyaccording to customer's reservation data from the request terminal 103.This invention, however, is not limited to this and, for instance,content data D1 may be recorded using the Internet or the like, in theportable dedicated terminal 102 in a manufacture company, sales companyor the like. Thereby, even if the portable dedicated terminal 102 isdirectly handed to the customer from a factory or the like, the contentdata D1 can be accurately rented.

(4) THIRD EMBODIMENT

[0253]FIG. 8 in which the same reference numerals are added tocorresponding parts in FIG. 5 shows a data providing system 150according to a third embodiment. The data providing system 150 isconstructed similarly to the data providing system 100 according to thesecond embodiment except for the construction of a data providing server151 corresponding to the system management site 2 and the agencies 4A to4N described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 and the constructionwhere a content server 152 corresponding to the system management site 2described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 is connected to the abovedata providing server 151 via the Internet 105.

[0254] In this case, the content server 152 has a content database 154storing a lot of content data D1 more than the content data D1 stored ina content database 153 in the data providing server 151, and a datatable generated by listing the additional information on the abovecontent data D1 (composed of content ID, title, sale price, rentalprice, etc.).

[0255] In the content database 153 stored in the data providing server151, a part of the much content data D1 stored in the content database154 in the content server 152 is stored, and also a new data tablegenerated by associating information representing the content data D1stored in the data providing server 151 with the data table stored inthe content database 154 in the content server 152 is stored.

[0256] Furthermore, the data providing server 151 is provided with areceived data judging part 155 for judging the type of data received bythe receiving part 115, and when the receiving part 115 receives rentalreservation request data D2 sent from the request terminal 103 via theInternet 105, the data providing server 151 transmits the receivedrental reservation request data D2 from the received data judging part155 to an accounting part 156.

[0257] The data providing server 151 searches a data table in thecontent database 153 based on that rental reservation request data D2 bythe accounting part 156, and judges whether or not content data D1wanted to rent by the customer has been stored in the content database153.

[0258] As a result, if it is confirmed by the accounting part 156 thatthe content data D1 wanted to rent by the customer has been stored inthe content database 153, then the data providing server 151 generatesrecording control data D3 by the accounting part 156 and transmits thisto a recording control part 157.

[0259] Thereby, the data providing server 151 sends rental reservationacceptance data from the sending part 118 to the request terminal 103 bythe recording control part 157. At the same time, the data providingserver 151 generates header data D4 based on that recording control dataD3 and records this in the portable dedicated terminal 102 with thecontent data D1.

[0260] On the contrary, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, if is it confirmed bythe accounting part 156 that the content data D1 requested by thecustomer has not been stored in the content database 153, then the dataproviding server 151 generates recording control data D3 with the rentalreservation request data D2 by the accounting part 156, similarly to theaccounting part 116 of the data providing server 101 (FIG. 5) accordingto the second embodiment described above with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6(it also executes accounting), and transmits the recording control dataD3 from the sending part 118 to the content server 152 via the Internet105 as content transmission request data.

[0261] As a result, when the requested content data D1 is sent from thecontent server 152 via the Internet 105 with the content transmissionrequest data, the data providing server 151 receives this by thereceiving part 115, takes them in the received data judging part 155,and transmits them from the received data judging part 155 to therecording control part 157.

[0262] The data providing server 151 generates header data D4 by addingthe information on the dedicated terminal ID and copy history to thecontent transmission request data (i.e. recording control data D3) bythe recording control part 157, and records the generated header data D4in the portable dedicated terminal 102 together with the content data D1obtained from the content server 152.

[0263] In this manner, even if the rental of the content data D1 thathas not been stored in the content database 153 is requested, the dataproviding server 151 can rent the content data D1 to the customer byobtaining this from the content server 152.

[0264] In this connection, when this data providing server 151 obtainsthe content data D1 from the content server 152, it takes more time forprocessing for accepting the rental reservation, comparing to the casewhere the content data D1 requested by the customer has been stored inthe content database 153 in the data providing server 151.

[0265] Therefore, the data providing server 151 generates rentalreservation acceptance data by the received data judging part 155 andsends this to notifies the customer of the acceptance of the rentalreservation at the time point that the content data D1 is obtained fromthe content server 152.

[0266] Furthermore, when the customer comes to an agency and requestedthe rental of content data D1, a clerk of the agency inputs rentalinformation having the same contents as the rental reservation requestdata D2 which is entered with an operational information input part 119.The data providing server 151 transmits this from the operationalinformation judging part 158 to the accounting part 156. Thus, thecontent data D1 is recorded in the portable dedicated terminal 102similarly to the aforementioned rental reservation with the requestterminal 103.

[0267] When content information including a content ID to newly storethe content data D1 in the content database 153 is entered via theoperational information input part 119, the data providing server 151transmits the content information from an operational informationjudging part 158 to a request data generating part 159, generatescontent request data representing that content information by the aboverequest data generating part 159, and sends this from the sending part118 to the content server 152 via the Internet 105.

[0268] When the desired content data D1 and its additional informationare sent from the content server 152, the data providing server 151receives this by the receiving part 115, and transmits the abovereceived content data D1 and additional information from the receiveddata judging part 155 to the recording control part 157 to store them inthe content database 153 by the above recording control part 157.

[0269] Thereby, although it relatively takes a time to obtain thecontent data D1 from the content server 152, content data, for example,of which the rental is relatively requested among the content data D1not stored in the content database 153, is obtained from the contentserver 152 and is stored in the content database 153, so that the dataproviding server 151 can rapidly deal with the rental request by thecustomer.

[0270] On the other hand, when the content transmission request data issent from the data providing server 151 via the Internet 105, thecontent server 152 (FIG. 8) receives this by a receiving part 160,extracts the content ID from that content transmission request data by acontent ID extracting part 161, and transmits this to a content searchpart 162 and also transmits the above content transmission request datato a send data generating part 164.

[0271] The content server 152 searches the content database 154 based onthat content ID by the content search part 162, reads the correspondingcontent data D1, and transmits this to the send data generating part164. At the same time, the content server 152 adds the contenttransmission request data to that content data D1 by the send datagenerating part 164, and sends them from a sending part 165 to the dataproviding server 151 via the Internet 105.

[0272] Furthermore, when the content request data is sent from the dataproviding server 151 via the Internet 105, the content server 152receives this by the receiving part 160, extracts the content ID fromthat content request data by the content ID extracting part 161, andtransmits this to the content search part 162.

[0273] The content server 152 searches the content database 154 based onthat content ID by the content search part 162 and reads correspondingcontent data D1 and additional information, and sends them from thesending part 165 to the data providing server 151 via the send datagenerating part 164 and the Internet 105.

[0274] In this manner, the content server 152 can provide the dataproviding server 151 with the content data D1.

[0275] Now, rental reservation processing procedures in the dataproviding server 151, the request terminal 103 and the content server152 in the data providing system 150 will be described except for thepayment of rental charges (i.e. accounting). As shown in FIG. 10(A),first, the request terminal 103 enters routine RT1 from the startingstep and executes similar processing to the case described above withreference to FIG. 7(A).

[0276] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10(B) in that the samereference numerals are applied to corresponding parts in FIG. 7(B), thedata providing server 151 enters routine RT3 from the starting step andsequentially executes processing in steps SP11 and SP12. And then, thedata providing server 151 proceeds to step SP21, and in step SP21, itsearches a data table in the content database 153 by the accounting part156 to judge whether the content data D1 wanted to rent by the customeris needed to obtain from the content server 152.

[0277] Obtaining an affirmative result in this step SP21 means that thecontent data D1 wanted to rent by the customer has not been stored inthe content database 153 in the data providing server.151. At this time,the data providing server 151 proceeds to step SP22 to send therecording control data D3 generated by the accounting part 156 ascontent transmission request data from the sending part 118 to thecontent server 152 via the Internet 105, and proceeds to step SP23.

[0278] Now, as shown in FIG. 10(C), the content server 152 entersroutine RT4 from the starting step, and proceeds to the next step SP31.In step SP31, the content server 152 waits for the content transmissionrequest data to be transmitted from the data providing server 151. Whenthe content server 152 receives the content transmission request datafrom the data providing server 151 by the receiving part 160, thecontent server 152 proceeds to step SP32.

[0279] In step SP32, the content server 152 extracts the content ID fromthe content transmission request data by the content ID extracting part161, searches the content database 154 based on the content ID by thecontent search part 162 and thereby reads the content ID having thatcontent ID from the content database 154. Then, the content server 152proceeds to step SP33.

[0280] In step SP33, the content server 152 adds the contenttransmission request data to the content data D1 read from the contentdatabase 154 by the send data generating part 164, sends them from thesending part 165 to the data providing server 151 via the Internet 105,and proceeds to the next step SP34 to finish the above processing in thecontent server 152.

[0281] On the other hand, in step SP23, the data providing server 151waits the content data D1 to be transmitted from the content server 152.When the data providing server 151 receives the content data D1 from theabove content server 152 by the receiving part 115 (receiving thecontent transmission request data as well as the content data D1), thedata providing server 151 proceeds to step SP24.

[0282] In step SP24, the data providing server 151 transmits thereceived content data D1 and content transmission request data from thereceived data judging part 155 to the recording control part 157, andalso generates rental reservation acceptance data by the above receiveddata judging part 155 and sends this from the sending part 118 to therequest terminal 103 via the Internet 105. Then, the data providingserver 151 sequentially executes the processing at steps SP14 and SP15,and then, the data providing server 151 proceeds to step SP25 to finishthe processing by the above data providing server 151. In this manner,the data providing server 151 finishes the rental reservation processingfor the content data D1.

[0283] In this connection, obtaining a negative result in theaforementioned step SP21 means that the content data D1 wanted to rentby the customer has been stored in the content database 153 in the dataproviding server 151. At this time, the data providing server 151proceeds to step SP24 to generate rental reservation acceptance data bythe recording control part 157 that received the recording control dataD3 from the accounting part 156, and sends this from the sending part118 to the request terminal 103 via the Internet 105, and then, the dataproviding server 151 proceeds to step SP14.

[0284] According to the above configuration, in this data providingsystem 150, the content server 152 having the content database 154storing much more content data D1 than the above data providing server151 is connected to the data providing server 151 having the contentdatabase 153 storing a lot of content data D1 via the Internet 105.

[0285] In this data providing system 150, when the data providing server151 receives the rental reservation request data D2 from the requestterminal 103 operated by the customer, the data providing server 151judges whether or not the content data D1 wanted to rental by thecustomer has been stored in the content database 153 in the above dataproviding server 151. And if the content data D1 wanted by the customerhas not been stored, the data providing server 151 obtains that contentdata D1 from the content server 152, and records this in the portablededicated terminal 102 that will be rented to the customer.

[0286] Accordingly, in this data providing system 150, the scale of thecontent database 153 to be provided in the data providing server 151 canbe relatively small. And even if the scale of the content database 153is miniaturized, various content data D1 that will be requested bycustomers can accurately rent.

[0287] In this connection, in this data providing system 150, since thescale of the content database 153 to be provided in the data providingserver 151 can be miniaturized, agencies that install the above dataproviding server 151 can largely reduce investment in equipment.

[0288] According to the above configuration, to the data providingserver 151 having the content database 153 storing a lot of content dataD1, the content server 152 having the content database 154 storing muchmore content data D1 than the above data providing server 151 isconnected. In the data providing server 151 which receives a rentalrequest from the customer, if content data D1 wanted to rent has notbeen stored in the content database 153, the data providing server 151obtains that content data D1 from the content server 152 to rent this tothe customer. Thereby, in addition to the effects obtained by theaforementioned second embodiment, the scale of the content database 153to be provided in the data providing server 151 can be largelyminiaturized. And even if the scale of the content database 153 isminiaturized, a data providing system capable of accurately rentingvarious content data D1 requested by customers can be realized.

[0289] Note that, in the aforementioned third embodiment, a part of alot of content data D1 stored in the content database 154 in the contentserver 152 is stored in the content database 153 in the data providingserver 151. This invention, however, is not only limited this but alsodifferent content data D1 may be stored in the content database 154 inthe content server 152 and the content database 153 in the dataproviding server 151. Furthermore, different content data D1 may beseparately stored in content databases in many data providing servers151 and content servers 152. Thereby, the scale of the content databasesto be provided in the data providing servers 151 and the content servers152 can be generally further miniaturized.

[0290] In the aforementioned third embodiment, the data providing server151 obtains content data D1 from the content server 152. This invention,however, is not only limited this but also a changer for automaticallyselecting and reproducing the content data D1 from packaged media thatwas bought by the agency for rental or purchase may be installed in theagency, and the data providing server 151 may obtain the content data D1from that changer, or the content server 152 may be used together withthat changer.

[0291] Still further, in the aforementioned third embodiment, theportable dedicated terminal 102 which is only for an agency is rented tothe customer together with content data D1. This invention, however, isnot only limited this but also the portable dedicated terminal 102 maybe sold to the customer, and the content data D1 may be recorded in theabove portable dedicated terminal 102 for rent or for purchase.

[0292] Furthermore, in the aforementioned third embodiment, content dataD1 wanted to rent is recorded in the portable dedicated terminal 102which is only for an agency. This invention, however, is not onlylimited this but also the content data D1 wanted to rent or wanted tobuy may be recorded in a portable recording/reproducing device or thelike such as a portable telephone, a portable MD player carried into theagency by the customer.

(5) FOURTH EMBODIMENT

[0293]FIG. 11 shows a data providing system 200 according to a fourthembodiment. The data providing system 200 is constructed by connecting aportable dedicated terminal 202 corresponding to the portable dedicatedterminals 7A to 7N described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 and anadvertiser/company server 203 corresponding to the advertiser/companysite 6 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3 to anintermediate server 201 corresponding to the system management site 2described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 via the Internet 204.

[0294] The intermediate server 201 has a customer database 210 forregistering customers who use the Internet 204 via the aboveintermediate server 201, and an advertiser/company database 211 forregistering advertisers and companies that want to provide distributiondata such as advertisement to customers by using the Internet 204.

[0295] In the intermediate server 201, the advertiser/company database211 previously stores advertiser/company registration screen data. Whenregistration request data that requests registration is sent from theadvertiser/company server 203 of an advertiser/company that wants anadvertiser/company registration, the intermediate server 201 receivesthis by a receiving part 212, reads advertiser/company registrationscreen data from the advertiser/company database 211 based on thatregistration request data by an advertiser/company information updatingpart 213, and sends this from a sending part 214 to theadvertiser/company server 203 via the Internet 204.

[0296] As a result, when advertiser/company information entered by anoperator on an advertiser/company registration screen based on theadvertiser/company registration screen data, as shown in FIG. 12(A), issent from the advertiser/company server 203 as advertiser/companyregistration information data, the intermediate server 201 receives thisby a receiving part 212.

[0297] Here, as shown in FIG. 12(A), the advertiser/company informationto be given from the advertiser/company server 203 to the intermediateserver 201 is composed of various information peculiar to eachadvertiser and company, such as company's name (i.e., advertiser's nameinformation and company's name information), telephone number and e-mailaddress, distribution genre information representing a genre that thecontents of distribution data to be provided belong to (e.g., Japanesecars or imported cars, rock music or classic music, Hollywood movies orJapanese movies, etc.) business content information represented bycomments such as a catchphrase by the advertiser/company, and acondition number representing conditions for concluding a contract withthe customer, and this information is generated by direct inputs by anoperator in the advertiser/company or by selection from various itemsshown by the intermediate server 201.

[0298] When obtaining such advertiser/company information, theintermediate server 201 issues unique advertiser/company identificationinformation to the advertiser and company that requested registration(hereinafter, this is referred to as advertiser/company ID) by theadvertiser/company information updating part 213, and sends this fromthe sending part 214 to the advertiser/company server 203 of thatadvertiser/company requesting the registration via the Internet 204.

[0299] In addition to this, as shown in FIG. 12(B), the intermediateserver 201 adds the advertiser/company ID to the advertiser/companyinformation obtained from the above advertiser/company by theadvertiser/company information updating part 213, and stores this asadvertiser/company registration information in the advertiser/companydatabase 211 to register the above advertiser/company. In this manner,the intermediate server 201 accepts a registration request fromadvertisers and companies at any time, and executes advertiser/companyregistration processing.

[0300] On the other hand, in the intermediate server 201, the customerdatabase 210 previously stores customer registration screen data. Whenregistration request data that requests registration is sent from theportable dedicated terminal 202 by operations by the customer who wantsregistration, the intermediate server 201 receives this by the receivingpart 212, reads customer registration screen data from the customerdatabase 210 based on that registration request data by a customerinformation updating part 215, and sends the above read customerregistration screen data from the sending part 214 to the portablededicated terminal 202 via the Internet 204.

[0301] As a result, when customer information entered on the customerregistration screen based on the customer registration screen data byoperations by the customer who wants the registration, as shown in FIG.13(A), is transmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 202, theintermediate server 201 receives this by the receiving part 212.

[0302] Now, as shown in FIG. 13(A), the customer information to be givenfrom the customer to the intermediate server 201 is composed of variouspersonal information such as his/her name, sex and age, informationabout interesting genres (e.g., Japanese cars or imported cars, rockmusic or classic music, Hollywood movies or Japanese movies, etc.)(hereinafter, this is referred to as customer's favorite genreinformation), and taste information to represent his/her own taste orthe like by comments, condition number representing conditions forcontracting with an advertiser/company, and e-mail address that has beenpreviously allotted to the portable dedicated terminal 202 used by thecustomer. This information is generated by direct inputs by the customeror by selection from among various items shown by the intermediateserver 201.

[0303] In this connection, the conditions for concluding a contractbetween the customer and an advertiser/company includes, as shown inFIG. 14, “A part of customer's communication charge is paid by theadvertiser/company.”, “The advertiser/company discounts products whichthe customer buys.”, “The points of Internet mileage that the customergot will be used in payment for purchases of products or the like.”, “Apresent is given from the advertiser/company to the customer accordingto the points of the Internet mileage that the customer got.”, “Thecustomer accesses the site of the contracted advertiser/company for apredetermined time or longer every month.”, “The customer purchaseproducts or the like from the advertiser/company for a predeterminedamount or over every month.”, and these conditions are represented bythe condition number from one to six.

[0304] When obtaining the aforementioned customer information, theintermediate server 201 issues a customer ID to the customer by thecustomer information updating part 215, and sends this from the sendingpart 214 to the portable dedicated terminal 202 of the customer via theInternet 204 to make the portable dedicated terminal 202 store this.

[0305] At this time, as shown in FIG. 13(B), the intermediate server 201adds the customer ID to the customer information by the customerinformation updating part 215, and stores this in the customer database210 as customer registration information to register the customer. Inthis manner, the intermediate server 201 accepts a registration requestfrom customers at any time, and executes customer registrationprocessing.

[0306] Thereafter, when content specifying data including the customerID is sent from the portable dedicated terminal 202 to request thedistribution of content data, to various agencies by operations by thecustomer who did customer registration, the intermediate server 201 oncereceives this by the receiving part 212.

[0307] The intermediate server 201 searches the customer database 210based on the customer ID included in the content specifying data withthe customer information updating par 215, to detect customerregistration information on the customer, adds this to the contentspecifying data as additional customer information, and updates this.Then, the intermediate server 201 sends that content specifying datafrom the sending part 214 to the agencies via the Internet 204.

[0308] In this manner, the intermediate server 201 relays content datato be sent from the portable dedicated terminal 202 to an agency everytime when the customer uses the agencies via the Internet 204, so thatas shown in FIG. 15, the intermediate server 201 adds accessed genreinformation representing the genre of the content data that the customerobtained from the agency, access counter information representing thenumber of obtained times of the content data of that genre, andinformation about the amount of money that the customer paid to obtainthe above content data, to the customer registration information, andsequentially updates the contents of that customer registrationinformation, by the customer information updating part 215.

[0309] In this connection, the intermediate server 201 issues points togive the customer a privilege such as a discount (Internet mileage)every time when the customer uses an agency with the portable dedicatedterminal 202, by the customer information updating part 215 according tothe usage state (purchase of content data, rental price, duration ofusing the Internet, etc.). Also that points will be added to thecustomer registration information every issue.

[0310] Thereby, the intermediate server 201 can grasp customer's tasteand so on, based on the customer registration information in thecustomer database 210.

[0311] By the way, when customer's permission data (including customerID) to permit the release of his/her own customer information toadvertisers/companies in order to contract with an advertiser/company toobtain distribution data is sent from the portable dedicated terminal202 by customer's operations, the intermediate server 201 (FIG. 11)receives this by the receiving part 212, and takes this in a matchingpart 216.

[0312] In this case, as shown in FIG. 15, the matching part 216 takesthe customer's permission data in a monitor part 220. In the monitorpart 220, the customer registration information on the customer who haspermitted the release is read from the customer database 210 based onthe customer ID included in the customer's permission data, andtransmitted to the judging part 221, and also to an advertiser/companyinformation extracting part 223 via a delay part 222.

[0313] The matching part 216 determines with the judging part 221whether there are genres having the number of obtained times more, thana predetermined threshold (for example, 100 times) as the genres ofcontent data that the customer obtained, from the accessed genreinformation and the access counter information in the customerregistration information.

[0314] If there are genres having the number of obtained times more thanthe threshold value, in the customer registration information, thematching part 216 determines the above genres as genres meeting thecurrent customer's taste and judges that the customer can be introducedto advertisers/companies, by the judging part 221. Then, the matchingpart 216 notifies the advertiser/company information extracting part 223of the genres having the number of obtained times more than thethreshold value as customer's taste information.

[0315] The matching part 216 compares distributed genre informationincluded in advertiser/company registration information in theadvertiser/company database 211 with the customer's taste informationfor search, and reads the advertiser/company registration information(FIG. 12(B)) of advertisers/companies that provides distribution data ofthe genres shown by the above customer's taste information, by theadvertiser/company information extracting part 223. Then, the matchingpart 216 generates advertiser/company introduction information tointroduce the advertisers/companies to the customer, excluding headvertiser/company ID from the read advertiser/company registrationinformation, as shown in FIG. 17.

[0316] The matching part 216 sends the advertiser/company introductioninformation from the sending part 214 to the portable dedicated terminal202 via the Internet 204 as advertiser/company introduction data,according to an e-mail address shown in the customer registrationinformation supplied from the delay part 222, by the advertiser/companyinformation extracting part 223, so as to introduce theadvertisers/companies that provide distribution data meeting customer'sown taste to the customer.

[0317] On the contrary, if there is no genre showing the number ofobtained times more than the threshold value in the customerregistration information, the matching part 216 judges that the customercan not be introduced to advertisers/companies since his/her taste isnot clear, by the judging part 221, and notifies the advertiser/companyinformation extracting part 223 of the judgement result.

[0318] The matching part 216 generates advertiser/company introductionimpossibility information representing that an advertiser/companyproviding distribution data meeting customer's taste could not be foundby the advertiser/company information extracting part 223, and sendsthis from the sending part 214 to the portable dedicated terminal 202via the Internet 204 as advertiser/company introduction impossibilitydata, according to the e-mail address shown in the customer registrationinformation supplied from the delay part 222, so as to notify thecustomer that an advertiser/company providing distribution data meetingcustomer's own taste could not be found at the present time.

[0319] As a result of introducing the advertisers/companies to thecustomer, if selected advertiser/company data (including the customerID) showing advertisers/companies that the customer selected from amongthe introduced advertisers/companies is sent from the portable dedicatedterminal 202 by customer's operations, the intermediate server 201receives this by the receiving part 212, and takes this in theadvertiser/company information extracting part 223 from the monitor part220 of the matching part 216 via the judging part 221.

[0320] In a case where the advertiser/company introduction informationis generated, the matching part 216 temporarily stores the customerregistration information and customer's taste information used for theabove generation, in the advertiser/company information extracting part223.

[0321] Therefore, when taking the selected advertiser/company data inthe advertiser/company information extracting part 223, the matchingpart 216 generates customer introduction information by selectivelyusing the taste information, from the customer registration information(FIG. 13(B)) based on that customer's taste information as shown in FIG.18, in order to introduce the customer to the advertisers/companies, andsends this as customer introduction data from the sending part 214 viathe Internet 204 to the advertiser/company server 203 of eachadvertise/company selected by the customer, according to the selectedadvertiser/company data.

[0322] Thereby, the intermediate server 201 shown in FIG. 11 canintroduce the advertisers/companies that provides useful distributiondata for the customer, to the customer requesting the introduction ofadvertisers/companies. At the same time, also to theadvertisers/companies, the intermediate server 201 can introduce thecustomer who needs the provision of their distribution data.

[0323] In this connection, as a result of introducing theadvertisers/companies to the customer, if advertiser/company selectionimpossible data representing that the customer could not find anadvertiser/company to contract with is sent from the portable dedicatedterminal 202, the intermediate server 201 receives this by the receivingpart 212, forbids the matching part 216 to generate customerintroduction information, and waits for customer's permission data to betransmitted from the portable dedicated terminal 202 of the abovecustomer again.

[0324] Note that, when the intermediate server 201 introduces thecustomer to an advertiser/company, it collects a charge for theintroduction of the customer from the advertiser/company.

[0325] As a result of sending the customer introduction data to theadvertiser/company server 203 by the intermediate server 201, ifcontract conclusion data is sent from the advertiser/company server 203because the advertiser/company has contracted with the customer, theintermediate server 201 receives this by the receiving part 212, andthen sends this from the sending part 214 to the portable dedicatedterminal 202 via the Internet 204, so as to notify the customer that thecontract with the advertiser/company has been concluded.

[0326] At this time, as shown in FIG. 19, the intermediate server 201adds contracting customer ID information representing the customer ID ofthe customer who contracted with the above advertiser/company to theadvertiser/company registration information in the advertiser/companydatabase 211 based on the contract conclusion data, and updates theadvertiser/company registration information, by the advertiser/companyinformation updating part 213. At the same time, as shown in FIG. 20,the intermediate server 201 adds contracted advertiser/company IDinformation representing the advertiser/company ID of theadvertiser/company that contracted with the above customer to thecustomer registration information in the customer database 210 based onthat contract conclusion data, and updates the customer registrationinformation, by the customer information updating part 215.

[0327] Thereby, the intermediate server 201 can grasp the contractingstate between customers and advertisers/companies from thus updatedcustomer registration information and advertiser/company registrationinformation, so as not to introduce the advertiser/company which hasalready a contract with the customer when the customer who has acontract with the advertiser/company permits the release of the customerinformation to contract with a new advertiser/company.

[0328] Furthermore, as the result of that the intermediate server 201sends the customer introduction data to the advertiser/company server203, if contract in conclusion data is sent from the advertiser/companywhich abandoned a contract with the customer, the intermediate server201 receives this by the receiving part 212, and sends this from thesending part 214 to the portable dedicated terminal 202 via the Internet204, so as to notify the customer that the contract with theadvertiser/company was not concluded.

[0329] In this connection, when the advertiser/company introductioninformation and customer introduction information described above withreference to FIGS. 17 and 18 are generated, the intermediate server 201excludes the contracting customer ID information and the contractingadvertiser/company ID information from the original advertiser/companyregistration information and customer registration information, so as toprevent personal information unnecessary for the contract from leakingto the advertiser/company and the customer.

[0330] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 11, when an operator enters aregistration request with an operating part 230, the advertiser/companyserver 203 sends the registration request as registration request data,from a sending part 232 to the intermediate server 201 via the Internet204, by a sending control part 231.

[0331] The advertiser/company server 203 receives advertiser/companyregistration screen data from the intermediate server 201 by a receivingpart 233, and transmits this from a display control part 234 to adisplay part 235, to display an advertiser/company registration screenbased on that advertiser/company registration screen data on the abovedisplay part 235.

[0332] Then, when the operating part 230 is operated by the operatorwith the advertiser/company registration screen displayed on the displaypart 235, the advertiser/company server 203 sends the advertiser/companyinformation that was entered on the advertiser/company registrationscreen according to the operations of the above operating part 230,described above with reference to FIG. 12(A), as advertiser/companyregistration information data, from the sending part 232 to theintermediate server 201 via the Internet 204, by the sending controlpart 231.

[0333] The advertiser/company server 203 receives the advertiser/companyID sent from the intermediate server 201 that finished the registrationof the advertiser/company, via the Internet 204 by the receiving part233, and stores this in a distribution information database 236.Thereafter, when accessing the intermediate server 201, theadvertiser/company server 203 uses that advertiser/company ID foridentification.

[0334] After registration at the intermediate server 201, if thecustomer introduction information described above with reference to FIG.17 is sent as customer introduction data, from the aboveintermediate-server 201 via the Internet 204, the advertiser/companyserver 203 receives this by the receiving part 233 and takes this in acustomer selecting part 237.

[0335] In this case, the advertiser/company server 203 judges by thecustomer selecting part 237 whether a contract should be concluded withthe customer that was introduced from the intermediate server 201, byreferring to the contract conditions and the usage state of theInternet, etc., based on the customer introduction data.

[0336] When the advertiser/company server 203 has decided to contractwith the customer with the customer selecting part 237, theadvertiser/company server 203 generates contract conclusion data by asend data generating part 238, and sends this to the intermediate server201 sequentially via the sending control part 231, the sending part 232and the Internet 204.

[0337] At this time, the advertiser/company server 203 notifies thesending control part 231 of the decision of a contract with thecustomer, by the customer selecting part 237. The advertiser/companyserver 203 properly reads distribution data meeting the taste of thecontracting customer from among various distribution data previouslystored in the distribution information database 236 by the sendingcontrol part 231, and sends the above read distribution data from thesending part 232 to customer's portable dedicated terminal 202 via theInternet 204.

[0338] In this manner, the advertiser/company server,203 can properlyprovide distribution data meeting customer's taste to the contractingcustomer.

[0339] In this connection, when the advertiser/company server 203 hasdecided not to contract with the customer, with the customer selectingpart 237, the advertiser/company server 203 generates contractinconclusion data by the send data generating part 238, and sends thisto the intermediate server 201 sequentially via the sending control part231, the sending part 232 and the Internet 204.

[0340] In the portable dedicated terminal 202, if the customer wantingregistration at the intermediate server 201 inputs a registration withan operating part 240, the portable dedicated terminal 202 generatesregistration request data by a request data generating part 241, andsends this from a sending part 242 to the intermediate server 201 viathe Internet 204.

[0341] The portable dedicated terminal 202 receives customerregistration screen data sent from the intermediate server 201 via theInternet 204 by a receiving part 243, and transmits this to areproducing part 244 composed of a display control part, a display part,a speaker, etc, in order to display a customer registration screen basedon that customer registration screen data by the above reproducing part244.

[0342] Then, if the operating part 240 is operated by the customer inthe state where the customer registration screen is displayed by thereproducing part 244, the portable dedicated terminal 202 sends thecustomer information inputted on the customer registration screen byoperations of the above operating part 240, described above withreference to FIG. 13(A), as customer registration information data, fromthe sending part 242 to the intermediate server 201 via the Internet204, by the request data generating part 241.

[0343] The portable dedicated terminal 202 receives the customer ID fromthe intermediate server 201 that finished the registration of thecustomer, via the Internet 204 by the receiving part 243, and takes thereceived customer ID in a recording control part 245.

[0344] The portable dedicated terminal 202 can recognize various datataken in the recording control part 245 from the receiving part 243,based on an identifier that has been previously added to that data, bythe above recording control part 245.

[0345] When the portable dedicated terminal 202 obtained a customer ID,the customer ID is recorded on a storage medium for customer 246 by therecording control part 245. Thereafter, when accessing the intermediateserver 201 and accessing an agency via the intermediate server 201, theportable dedicated terminal 202 uses that customer ID to make theintermediate server 201 and the agency recognize the customer.

[0346] When the customer is registered at the intermediate server 201,the portable dedicated terminal 202 sends specifying information ondesired content data entered by customer's operations with the operatingpart 240 as content specifying data accompanied with the customer ID,from the sending part 242 to the agency via the intermediate server 201,by the request data generating part 241.

[0347] Then, when the portable dedicated terminal 202 receives requestedcontent data from the agency by the receiving part 243, the portablededicated terminal 202 recognizes this by the recording control part245, and records this in an storage medium for agency 247. Thereafter,the portable dedicated terminal 202 reproduces the content data from thestorage medium for agency 247 by the reproduction control part 248,according to the operations of the operating part 240, and transmits theabove reproduced content data to the reproducing part 244. Thus, thecustomer can enjoy the content.

[0348] If the customer enters permission information for permitting therelease of the customer information with the operating part 240, theportable dedicated terminal 202 generates customer's permission datarepresenting that permission information by the request data generatingpart 241, and sends this from the sending part 242 to the intermediateserver 201 via the Internet 204.

[0349] As a result, when advertiser/company introduction data is sentfrom the intermediate server 201 via the Internet 204, the portablededicated terminal 202 receives this by the receiving part 243, andtransmits this to the reproducing part 244 to show the customer theadvertisers/companies introduced from the intermediate server 201 on anadvertiser/company introduction screen based on that advertiser/companyintroduction data.

[0350] If the customer selects desired advertiser/company with theoperating part 240, the portable dedicated terminal 202 generatesselected advertiser/company data representing that selectedadvertiser/company by the request data generating part 241, and sendsthis from the sending part 242 to the intermediate server 201 via theInternet 204.

[0351] As a result, when contract conclusion data is sent from theintermediate server 201 via the Internet 204 because theadvertiser/company has contracted with the customer, the portablededicated terminal 202 receives this by the receiving part 243, andtransmits this to the reproducing part 244, to notify the customer ofthe conclusion of the contract with the advertiser/company.

[0352] When distribution data is sent from the advertiser/company server203 that contracted with the customer, the portable dedicated terminal202 receives this by the receiving part 243, and recognizes the abovereceived distribution data by the recording control part 245 and recordsthis on the storage medium for customer 246. Thereafter, the portablededicated terminal 202 reproduces the distribution data from thatstorage medium for customer 246 by the reproduction control part 248,according to the operations of the operating part 240, and transmits theabove reproduced distribution data to the reproducing part 244 to showthe customer various information based on that distribution data.

[0353] On the contrary, if the advertiser/company abandoned a contractwith the customer and contract inconclusion data is sent from theintermediate server 201, the portable dedicated terminal 202 receivesthis by the receiving part 243, and transmits this to the reproducingpart 244 to notify the customer that the contract with theadvertiser/company was not concluded.

[0354] In this connection, as the result of that the portable dedicatedterminal 202 sent the customer's permission data to the intermediateserver 201, if advertiser/company introduction impossibility data issent, the portable dedicated terminal 202 receives this by the receivingpart 243, and transmits this to the reproducing part 244 to notify thecustomer that the intermediate server 201 could not find anadvertiser/company which can be introduced to the customer at thepresent time.

[0355] As the result of that the advertisers/companies introduced fromthe intermediate server 201 were shown to the customer, if selectionimpossibility information representing that the customer could not findan advertiser/company to contract with, out of the introducedadvertisers/companies is entered by the above customer with theoperating part 240, the portable dedicated terminal 202 generatesadvertiser/company selection impossibility data representing thatselection impossibility information by the request data generating part241, and sends this from the sending part 242 to the intermediate server201 via the Internet 204.

[0356] By the way, as already described above, this portable dedicatedterminal 202 has the storage medium for customer 246 and the storagemedium for agency 247. The data (customer ID and distribution data)obtained from the intermediate server 201 and the advertiser/companyserver 203 other than the agencies is recorded on the storage medium forcustomer 246 by separating that from the data (content data) obtainedfrom the above agencies.

[0357] Thereby, in the advertiser/company server 203, when the contentdata rented from the agency is deleted from the storage medium foragency 247 on the expiration of the rental term, it can be almostprevented that the customer erroneously erases data such as the customerID and the distribution data obtained for himself/herself from theservers other than the agencies with the above content data.

[0358] Now, an advertiser/company registration processing procedure bythe intermediate server 201 and the advertiser/company server 203 in thedata providing system 200 will be collectively described. First, asshown in FIG. 21(A), the advertiser/company server 203 enters routineRT10 from the starting step and proceeds to step SP101.

[0359] In step SP101, the advertiser/company server 203 waits for aregistration request to be entered via the operating part 230. When theregistration request is entered, the advertiser/company server 203proceeds to step SP102.

[0360] In step SP102, the advertiser/company server 203 sends theregistration request as registration request data, from the sending part232 to the intermediate server 201 by the sending control part 231, andproceeds to step SP103.

[0361] At this time, as shown in FIG. 21(B), the intermediate server 201enters routine RT11 from the starting step, and proceeds step SP111 towait for the registration request data to be sent from theadvertiser/company server 203. When the intermediate server 201 receivesthe registration request data from the above advertiser/company server203, by the receiving part 212, the intermediate server 201 proceeds tostep SP112.

[0362] In step SP112, the intermediate server 201 readsadvertiser/company registration screen data from the advertiser/companydatabase 211 based on the received registration request data by theadvertiser/company information updating part 213, and sends this fromthe sending part 214 to the advertiser/company server 203, and proceedsto step SP113.

[0363] At this time, in step SP103, the advertiser/company server 203waits for the advertiser/company registration screen data to be sentfrom the intermediate server 201. When the advertiser/company server 203receives the advertiser/company registration screen data by thereceiving part 233, the advertiser/company server 203 proceeds to stepSP104.

[0364] In step SP104, the advertiser/company server 203 sendsadvertiser/company information, which was entered on an,advertiser/company registration screen based on the advertiser/companyregistration screen data by the operator with the operating part 230, asadvertiser/company registration information data, from the sending part232 to the intermediate server 201 by the sending control part 231, andproceeds to step SP105.

[0365] At this time, in step SP113, the intermediate server 201 waitsfor the advertiser/company registration information data to be sent fromthe advertiser/company server 203. When the intermediate server 201receives the advertiser/company registration information data by thereceiving part 212, the intermediate server 201 proceeds to step SP114.

[0366] In step SP114, the intermediate server 201 issues anadvertiser/company ID to the advertiser/company that has requested aregistration, by the advertiser/company information updating part 213,and sends this from the sending part 214 to the advertiser/companyserver 203. At the same time, the intermediate server 201 adds theadvertiser/company ID to the advertiser/company information based on theadvertiser/company registration information data obtained from the aboveadvertiser/company server 203 and takes this as advertiser/companyregistration information, and records this in the advertiser/companydatabase 211 and registers the above advertiser/company that hasrequested the registration. Then, the intermediate server 201 proceedsto step SP115 to finish the processing in the intermediate server 201.

[0367] Furthermore, in step SP105, the advertiser/company server 203waits for the advertiser/company ID to be transmitted from theintermediate server 201. When the advertiser/company server 203 receivesthe above advertiser/company ID by the receiving part 233, theadvertiser/company server 203 proceeds to step SP106 to store thatadvertiser/company ID in the distribution information database 236.Then, the advertiser/company server 203 proceeds to the next step SP107to finish the processing in the advertiser/company server 203. In thismanner, the data providing system 200 finishes all theadvertiser/company registration processing procedures in theintermediate server 201 and the advertiser/company server 203.

[0368] An advertiser/company introduction processing procedures by theintermediate server 201 and the portable dedicated terminal 202 in thisdata providing system 200 will be collectively described. First, asshown in FIGS. 22 (A) and 23(A), the portable dedicated terminal 202enters routine RT12 from the starting step, and proceeds to step SP121.

[0369] In step SP121, the portable dedicated terminal 202 waits thecustomer to enter a registration request with the operating part 240.When the registration request is entered, the portable dedicatedterminal 202 proceeds to step SP122.

[0370] In step SP122, the portable dedicated terminal 202 sends theregistration request as registration request data, from the sending part242 to the intermediate server 201 by the request data generating part241, and proceeds to step SP123.

[0371] At this time, as shown in FIGS. 22(B) and 23(B), the intermediateserver 201 enters routine RT13 from the starting step, and proceeds tostep SP141 to wait for the registration request data to be sent from theportable dedicated terminal 202. When the intermediate server 201receives the registration request data from the portable dedicatedterminal 202 by the receiving part 212, the intermediate server 201proceeds to step SP142.

[0372] In step SP142, the intermediate server 201 reads customerregistration screen data from the customer database 210 by the customerinformation updating part 215, based on the registration request data,and sends this from the sending part 214 to the portable dedicatedterminal 202, and proceeds to step SP143.

[0373] At this time, in step SP123, the portable dedicated terminal 202waits for the customer registration screen data to be sent from theintermediate server 201. When the portable dedicated terminal 202receives the above customer registration screen data by the receivingpart 243, the portable dedicated terminal 202 proceeds to step SP124.

[0374] In step SP124, the portable dedicated terminal 202 sends customerinformation, which was entered on a customer registration screen basedon the customer registration screen data by the customer with theoperating part 240, as customer registration information data from thesending part 242 to the intermediate server 201 by the request datagenerating part 241, and proceeds to step SP125.

[0375] At this time, in step SP143, the intermediate server 201 waitsfor the customer registration information data to be sent from theportable dedicated terminal 202. When the intermediate server 212receives the above customer registration information data by thereceiving part 212, the intermediate server 201 proceeds to step SP144.

[0376] In step SP144, the intermediate server 201 issues a customer IDto the customer who has requested a registration by the customerinformation updating part 215, and sends this from the sending part 214to the portable dedicated terminal 202. At the same time, theintermediate server 201 adds the customer ID to the customer informationbased on the above customer registration information data obtained fromthe portable dedicated terminal 202 and takes this as customerregistration information, and stores this in the customer database 210to register the above customer who has requested the registration. Then,the intermediate server 201 proceeds to step SP145.

[0377] At this time, in step SP125, the portable dedicated terminal 202waits for the customer ID to be sent from the intermediate server 201.When the portable dedicated terminal 202 receives the customer ID by thereceiving part 243, the portable dedicated terminal 202 proceeds to stepSP126 to record that customer ID on the storage medium for customer 246,and proceeds to step SP127.

[0378] In step SP127, the portable dedicated terminal 202 waits for thecustomer to enter any request with the operating part 240. When theabove request is entered, the portable dedicated terminal 202 proceedsto step SP128 to determine whether or not that request is a request topermit the release of the customer information.

[0379] Obtaining a negative result in this step SP128 means thatcustomer's request is specifying information, for example, to obtaincontent data from various agencies. At this time, the portable dedicatedterminal 202 proceeds to step SP129 to generate content specifying datarepresenting the specifying information and including the customer ID bythe request data generating part 241, and sends this from the sendingpart 242 to the agencies via the intermediate server 201, and returns tostep SP127.

[0380] Thereafter, until the customer requests the permission of therelease of the customer information, the portable dedicated terminal 202repeats the processing loop of steps SP127-SP128-SP129 every time whencontent data specifying information is entered by the above customer.

[0381] Obtaining an affirmative result in step SP128 means that thecustomer wants to contract with the advertiser/company and requests therelease of the customer information. At this time, the portablededicated terminal 202 proceeds to step SP130 to generate customer's permission data representing a request for the release of that customerinformation and including the customer ID by the request data generatingpart 241, and sends this from the sending part 242 to the intermediateserver 201. Then, the portable dedicated terminal 202 proceeds to stepSP131.

[0382] On the other hand, in step SP145, the intermediate server 201waits for any data to be sent from the portable dedicated terminal 202.When the intermediate server 201 receives the data from the aboveportable dedicated terminal 202 by the receiving part 212, theintermediate server 201 proceeds to step SP146 to determine whether ornot the received data is customer's permission data.

[0383] Obtaining a negative result in step SP146 means that theintermediate server 201 received content specifying data from theportable dedicated terminal 202 for relay to the agency. At this time,the intermediate server 201 proceeds to step SP147 to update customerregistration information based on that content specifying data by thecustomer information updating part 215. Then, the intermediate server201 proceeds to step SP145.

[0384] In this manner, until customer's permission data is sent from theportable dedicated terminal 202, the intermediate server 201 repeats theprocessing loop of steps SP145-SP146-SP147 every time when contentspecifying data is received from the above portable dedicated terminal202, and thereby sequentially updates the customer registrationinformation.

[0385] Obtaining an affirmative result in step SP146 means that thecustomer permits the release of the customer information to contractwith an advertiser/company and the intermediate server 201 receivedcustomer's permission data. At this time, the intermediate server 201proceeds to step SP148 to determine whether there are genres showing thenumber of obtained times more than the threshold value, out of thecontent data obtained by the customer, based on customer registrationinformation on the customer who permitted the release, by the matchingpart 216.

[0386] Obtaining a negative result in this step SP148 means that becausethere is no genre showing the number of obtained times more than thethreshold value, regarding to the content data that the customerobtained, it is hard to specify customer's taste at the present time. Atthis time, the intermediate server 201 generates advertiser/companyintroduction impossibility data by the matching part 216, and sends thisfrom the sending part 214 to the portable dedicated terminal 202 tonotifying the customer that an advertiser/company which can beintroduced to the customer could not be found at the present time. Then,the intermediate server 201 returns to step SP145.

[0387] On the contrary, obtaining an affirmative result in step SP148means that there are genres having the number of obtained times morethan the threshold value, regarding to the content data that thecustomer obtained, and that the genres are specified as customer's tasteat the present time. At this time, the intermediate server 201 proceedsto step SP149.

[0388] In step SP149, the intermediate server 201 searchesadvertiser/company registration information in the advertiser/companydatabase 211 based on customer's taste that was specified in step SP148,by the matching part 216, to read advertiser/company registrationinformation on the advertiser/company providing distribution datameeting the above customer's taste.

[0389] The intermediate server 201 generates advertiser/companyintroduction information based on the advertiser/company registrationinformation read from the advertiser/company database 211 by thematching part 216, and sends this as advertiser/company introductiondata, from the sending part 214 to the portable dedicated terminal 202to introduce the advertiser/company to the customer. Then, theintermediate server 201 returns to step SP145 and repeats the processingof steps SP145-SP146-SP147-SP148-SP149 again.

[0390] After sending the customer's permission data to the intermediateserver 201, in step SP131, the portable dedicated terminal 202 waits theadvertiser/company introduction data and advertiser/company introductionimpossibility data to be sent from the intermediate server 201. When theportable dedicated terminal 202 receives the advertiser/companyintroduction data or the advertiser/company introduction impossibilitydata from the intermediate server 201 by the receiving part 243, theportable dedicated terminal 202 proceeds to the next step SP132.

[0391] When the portable dedicated terminal 202 receives theadvertiser/company introduction impossibility data by the receiving part243, in step SP132, the portable dedicated terminal 202 transmits thisto the reproducing part 244 to notify the customer that the intermediateserver 201 could not find an advertiser/company for the customer. Then,the portable dedicated terminal 202 returns to step SP127 and repeatsthe processing of steps SP127-SP128-SP129-SP130-SP131-SP132 again.

[0392] When the portable dedicated terminal 202 receives theadvertiser/company introduction data by the receiving part 243, in stepSP132, the portable dedicated terminal 202 transmits this to thereproducing part 244 to show the customer the advertisers/companies thatwere introduced from the intermediate server 201. Then, the portablededicated terminal 202 returns to step SP127 and repeats the processingof steps SP127-SP128-SP129-SP130-SP131-SP132 again. As described above,the advertiser/company introduction processing procedure in the dataproviding system 200 is executed.

[0393] A contract processing procedure by the intermediate server 201,the portable dedicated terminal 202 and the advertiser/company server203 in the data providing system 200 will be described. First, as shownin FIG. 24(A), the portable dedicated terminal 202 which receivedadvertiser/company introduction data from the intermediate server 201enters routine RT14 from the starting step, and proceeds to step SP161.

[0394] In step SP161, the portable dedicated terminal 202 shows thecustomer the advertisers/companies that were introduced from theintermediate server 201 by the reproducing part 244. If the abovecustomer selects an advertiser/company to contract with, with theoperating part 240, the portable dedicated terminal 202 proceeds to stepSP162.

[0395] In step SP162, the portable dedicated terminal 202 generatesselected advertiser/company data representing the advertiser/companyselected by the customer by the request data generating part 241, andsends this from the sending part 242 to the intermediate server 201 viathe Internet 204. Then, the portable dedicated terminal 202 proceeds tothe next step SP163.

[0396] At this time, as shown in FIG. 24(B), the intermediate server 201enters routine RT15 from the starting step, and proceeds to step SP171to wait for selected advertiser/company data to be sent from theportable dedicated terminal 202. When the intermediate server 201receives the selected advertiser/company data from the portablededicated terminal 202 by the receiving part 212, the intermediateserver 201 proceeds to step SP172.

[0397] In step SP172, the intermediate server 201 generates customerintroduction information from the customer registration informationbased on the selected advertiser/company data by the matching part 216,and sends this as customer introduction data, from the sending part 214to the advertiser/company server 203 via the Internet 204. Then, theintermediate server 201 proceeds to step SP173.

[0398] At this time, as shown in FIG. 24(C), the advertiser/companyserver 203 enters routine RT16 from the starting step, and proceeds tostep SP181 to wait for customer introduction data to be sent from theintermediate server 201. When the advertiser/company server 203 receivesthe customer introduction data from the intermediate server 201 by thereceiving part 232, the advertiser/company server 203 proceeds to stepSP182.

[0399] In step SP182, the advertiser/company server 203 judges whetheror not to contract with the customer, by referring to the contractconditions and the usage state of the Internet 204 based on the customerintroduction data by the customer selecting part 237.

[0400] Obtaining a negative result in step SP182 means that the contractconditions and the using state of the Internet 204, etc., shown by thecustomer did not meet the advertiser/company requirements and thereforea contract was abandoned. At this time, the advertiser/company server203 proceeds to step SP183 to generate contract inconclusion data by thesend data generating part 238, and sends this from the sending part 232to the intermediate server 201 via the Internet 204. Then, theadvertiser/company server 203 proceeds to step SP184 to finish theprocessing in the advertiser/company server 203.

[0401] On the contrary, obtaining an affirmative result in step SP182means that the contract conditions and the using state of the Internet204, shown by the customer, meet the advertiser/company requirements andthe advertiser/company has decided to contract with the customer. Atthis time, the advertiser/company server 203 proceeds to step SP185 togenerate contract conclusion data by the send data generating part 238,and sends this from the sending part 232 to the intermediate server 201via the Internet 204. Then, the advertiser/company server 203 proceedsto step SP186.

[0402] In step SP186, the advertiser/company server 203 properly readsdistribution data meeting the taste of the contracting customer from thedistribution information database 236 by the sending control part 231,and sends this from the sending part 232 to the portable dedicatedterminal 202 of that customer via the Internet 204. Then, theadvertiser/company server 203 proceeds to step SP184 to finish theprocessing in the advertiser/company server 203.

[0403] In step SP173, the intermediate server 201 waits for datarepresenting the conclusion/inconclusion of a contract with the customerto be sent from the advertiser/company server 203. When the intermediateserver 201 receives the above data from the advertiser/company server203 by the receiving part 212, the intermediate server 201 proceeds tostep SP174.

[0404] In step SP174, the intermediate server 201 determines whether thedata received from the advertiser/company server 203 is contractconclusion data.

[0405] Obtaining a negative result in step SP174 means that theadvertiser/company abandoned to contract with the customer and theintermediate server 201 received contract inconclusion data from theadvertiser/company server 203. At this time, the intermediate server 201proceeds to step SP175 to send that Contract inconclusion data from thesending part 214 to the portable dedicated terminal 202 via the Internet204 to notify the customer that a contract with the advertiser/companywas not concluded. Then, the intermediate server 201 proceeds to stepSP176 to finish the processing in the intermediate server 201.

[0406] On the contrary, obtaining an affirmative result in step SP174means that the advertiser/company contracted with the customer and theintermediate server 201 received contract conclusion data from theadvertiser/company server 203. At this time, the intermediate server 201proceeds to step SP177 to send that contract conclusion data from thesending part 214 to the portable dedicated terminal 202 via the Internet204 to notify the customer that the contract with the advertiser/thecompany was concluded. Then, the intermediate server 201 proceeds tostep SP178.

[0407] In step SP178, the intermediate server 201 updates customerregistration information in the customer database 210 based on thecontract conclusion data by the customer information updating part 215,and also updates advertiser/company registration information in theadvertiser/company database 211 based on that contract conclusion databy the advertiser/company information updating part 213. Then, theintermediate server 201 proceeds to step SP176 to finish the processingin the intermediate server 201.

[0408] Furthermore, in step SP163, the portable dedicated terminal 202waits that data representing the conclusion/inconclusion of a contractwith the advertiser/company to be sent from the intermediate server 201.When the portable dedicated terminal 202 receives the data from theabove intermediate server 201, the portable dedicated terminal 202proceeds to step SP164.

[0409] In step SP164, the portable dedicated terminal 202 determineswhether the data received from the intermediate server 201 is contractconclusion data.

[0410] Obtaining a negative result in step SP164 means that theadvertiser/company abandoned the contract and the portable dedicatedterminal 202 received contract inconclusion data from the intermediateserver 201. At this time, the portable dedicated terminal 202 transmitsthe above contract inconclusion data to the reproducing part 244 tonotify the customer that the contract with the advertiser/company wasnot concluded. Then, the portable dedicated terminal 202 proceeds tostep SP165 to finish the processing in the portable dedicated terminal202.

[0411] On the contrary, obtaining an affirmative result in step SP164means that the advertiser/company contracted with the customer and theportable dedicated terminal 202 received contract conclusion data fromthe intermediate server 201. At this time, the portable dedicatedterminal 202 transmits that contract conclusion data to the reproducingpart 244 to notify the customer that the contract with theadvertiser/company was concluded. Then, the portable dedicated terminal202 proceeds to step SP166.

[0412] In step SP166, the portable dedicated terminal 202 waits fordistribution data to be sent from the advertiser/company server 203 ofthe advertiser/company that contracted with the customer. When theportable dedicated terminal 202 receives the distribution data from theadvertiser/company server 203 by the receiving part 243, the portablededicated terminal 202 proceeds to step SP167.

[0413] In step SP167, the portable dedicated terminal 202 recognizes andrecords the received distribution data on the storage medium only forcustomer 246 by the recording control part 245. Thereby, thedistribution data can be freely reproduced and shown by the customer.Then, the portable dedicated terminal 202 proceeds to step SP165 tofinish the processing in the portable dedicated terminal 202. Asdescribed above, all the contract processing procedures by the dataproviding system 2090 are finished.

[0414] According to the above configuration, in this data providingsystem 200, by the intermediate server 201, advertiser/companyinformation is obtained from the advertiser/company server 203 of anadvertiser/company that provides distribution data to the customer viathe Internet 204, stores this in the advertiser/company database 211 asadvertiser/company registration information to register the aboveadvertiser/company.

[0415] Furthermore, in the data providing system 200, the intermediateserver 201 obtains customer information from the intermediate server 201of the customer who wants to use the Internet 204 with the portablededicated terminal 202, issues a customer ID, adds the customer ID tothe obtained customer information, and stores this in the customerdatabase 210 as customer registration information, to register thecustomer.

[0416] In this data providing system 200, to obtain content data or thelike by the portable dedicated terminal 202, every time when contentspecifying data including the customer ID is sent from the portablededicated terminal 202 to an agency, the content specifying data isrelayed by the intermediate server 201, and the contents of the abovecontent specifying data is added to the customer registrationinformation in the customer database 210 and thereby the customerregistration information is updated.

[0417] In this manner, in the data providing system 200, if customerpermission data indicating the permission of the release of the customerinformation is sent from the portable dedicated terminal 202, customer'staste is determined based on the customer registration information inthe customer database 210 by the intermediate server 201.Advertiser/company registration information in the advertiser/companydatabase 211 is searched based on the above discriminated customer'staste; and thereby the advertiser/company registration information on anadvertiser/company that provides distribution data meeting customer'staste is read. Then, advertiser/company introduction data is generatedand sent to the portable dedicated terminal 202.

[0418] Accordingly, in this data providing system 200, the customer caneasily select the advertiser/company which provides distribution datameeting his/her own taste with time and cost remarkably reduced.

[0419] In this data providing system 200, as the result of introducingan advertiser/company to the customer, if desired advertiser/company isselected by the customer, the intermediate server 201 provides only theadvertiser/company server 203 of the advertiser/company selected by thecustomer, with customer introduction data generated from the customerregistration information being personal information on that customer, inorder to make the advertiser/company decide whether to contract with thecustomer. Therefore, it can be almost prevented that personalinformation on the customer is illegally released via the Internet.

[0420] In this data providing system 200, customers are introduced to anadvertiser/company as the above manner. Therefore, also theadvertiser/company can easily and properly select customers requestingdistribution data provided by the advertiser/company, and canefficiently and properly provide that distribution data to thecustomers.

[0421] In this data providing system 200, the customer uses a portablededicated terminal 202 which is only for agency, and the customerobtains distribution data provided by an advertiser/company by the aboveportable dedicated terminal 202. Thereby, the versatility of theportable dedicated terminal 202 can be expanded, and the usability canbe remarkably improved.

[0422] In this data providing system 200, in the portable dedicatedterminal 202, distribution data is obtained from an agency and isrecorded on the storage medium for customer 246 different from thestorage medium for agency 247 for storing the content data. Thereby,when the content data rented from the agency is erased, the distributiondata can be almost prevented from being erroneously erased.

[0423] According to the above configuration, the intermediate server 201has the customer database 210 for storing customer information providedby a portable dedicated terminal 202 from the customer to register theabove customer, and the advertiser/company database 211 for storingadvertiser/company information provided from an advertiser/company bythe advertiser/company server 203 as advertiser/company registrationinformation to register the above advertiser/company. Every time whencontent specifying data including a customer ID that was issued in theregistration of the customer is sent from the portable dedicatedterminal 202 to the agency, the contents of the above content specifyingdata are added to customer registration information in the customerdatabase 210, and the customer registration information is updated bythe intermediate server 201. When the intermediate server 201 receivescustomer's permission data from the above portable dedicated terminal202, the intermediate server 201 searches advertiser/companyregistration information in the advertiser/company database 211 based oncustomer's taste that was determined based on the customer registrationinformation in the customer database 210, generates advertiser/companyintroduction data based on advertiser/company registration informationon an advertiser/company selected by the search, and sends this to theportable dedicated terminal 202. Thereby, the customer can easily selectan advertiser/company that provides distribution data meeting his/herown taste. Thus, a data providing system in that customers can easilyand accurately obtain desired distribution data can be realized.

[0424] Note that, in the aforementioned fourth embodiment, when theintermediate server 201 receives the customer's permission data from theportable dedicated terminal 202, the intermediate server 201 decidescustomer's taste based on the customer registration information in thecustomer database 210 and searches the advertiser/company database 211.This invention, however, is not limited to this and the intermediateserver 201 may constantly decides customer's taste based on the customerregistration information in the customer database 210, may inquire ofthe customer whether or not he/she intends to release the customerinformation, with the portable dedicated terminal 202 when theintermediate server 201 founds the above customer's taste (that is, whenthe number of obtained times of the content data by the customer is thethreshold value or over), and if as a result, the customer's permissiondata to permit the release of the customer information is sent from thecustomer with the portable dedicated terminal 202, the intermediateserver 201 may search advertiser/company registration information in theadvertiser/company database 211. Thereby, when the customer permits therelease of the customer information with the presumption to contractwith and advertiser/company, it can be almost prevented that the abovecustomer's taste cannot be found and thereby an advertiser/companycannot be introduced.

[0425] In the aforementioned fourth embodiment, when the intermediateserver 201 received the customer's permission data, the intermediateserver 201 searches advertiser/company registration information in theadvertiser/company database 211 based on customer's taste found based onthe customer registration information in the customer database 210. Thisinvention, however, is not limited to this and in addition to thecustomer's taste that was found based on the customer registrationinformation in the customer database 210, advertiser/companyregistration information in the advertiser/company database 211 may besearched also based on the contract conditions described in the abovecustomer registration information. Thereby, when the customerintroduction data is sent to the advertiser/company server 203, thecases where the advertiser/company abandons a contract with the customerowing to the contract conditions can be remarkably reduced. Thus, aprobability that a contract is concluded between the customer and theadvertiser/company is increased, and the request of the customer thatwants to contract with an advertiser/company can be further accuratelytaken up.

[0426] In the aforementioned fourth embodiment, when the intermediateserver 201 receives the customer's permission data, the intermediateserver 201 searches advertiser/company registration information in theadvertiser/company database 211 based on customer's taste that was foundbased on the customer registration information in the customer database210. This invention, however, is not limited to this andadvertiser/company registration information in the advertiser/companydatabase 211 may be searched based on the taste information in thecustomer information being a basis for the customer registrationinformation stored in the customer database 210. Thereby, in thematching part 216, excepting the processing for extracting customer'staste from the customer registration information can reduce load on theprocessing.

[0427] Furthermore, in the aforementioned fourth embodiment, thecustomer uses the intermediate server 201 with the portable dedicatedterminal 202. This invention, however, is not limited to this and thecustomer may use the intermediate server 201 with other various kinds ofdata obtaining apparatuses, provided that the obtaining apparatus areapparatuses connectable to the Internet 204 by the customer, such as apersonal computer, a portable telephone and a PDA (Personal DigitalAssistance). Thereby, further more customers can use introduction by theintermediate server 201 to advertisers/companies, and the system can bewidely popularized.

(6) FIFTH EMBODIMENT

[0428]FIG. 25 in which the same reference numerals are added tocorresponding parts to FIG. 11 shows a data providing system 260according to a fifth embodiment. The data providing system 260 isconstructed similarly to the aforementioned data providing system 200according to the fourth embodiment, except for the construction of anintermediate server 261 corresponding to the system management site 2described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 and the construction of aportable dedicated terminal 262 corresponding to the portable dedicatedterminals 7A to 7N described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

[0429] In this case, the intermediate server 261 registers the customerwho uses the Internet 204 with the portable dedicated terminal 262 bystoring customer registration information in a customer database 265similarly to the intermediate server 201 described above with referenceto FIG. 11, and also registers an advertiser/company that providesdistribution data to the customer via the Internet 204 with theadvertiser/company server 203 by storing advertiser/company registrationinformation in the advertiser/company database 211.

[0430] Furthermore, the intermediate server 261 updates the customerregistration information in the customer database 265 every time whenthe customer uses the Internet 204 to obtain content data or the likewith the portable dedicated terminal 262, similarly to the intermediateserver 201 described above with reference to FIG. 11.

[0431] In addition to the customer registration information and customerregistration screen data, the intermediate server 261 previously storescustomer information input screen data to input customer information inthe customer database 265. When the intermediate server 261 receivescustomer's permission data that was sent from the portable dedicatedterminal 262 by customer's operations, by a receiving part 266, theintermediate server 261 reads the customer information input screen datafrom the customer database 265 by a customer information updating part267, and sends this from the sending part 214 to the portable dedicatedterminal 262 via the Internet 204.

[0432] When customer information like the customer information describedabove with reference to FIG. 13(A), which was entered on the customerinformation input screen based on the customer information input screendata according to customer's operations, is sent from the portablededicated terminal 262 as customer information data, the intermediateserver 261 receives this by a receiving part 266 and takes this in amatching part 268.

[0433] Now, as shown in FIG. 26, the matching part 268 is constructed byan advertiser/company information extracting part. The matching part 268extracts customer's taste genre information in the customer informationdata, which was taken in from the receiving part 266, as informationrepresenting customer's taste, searches advertiser/company registrationinformation in the advertiser/company database 211 based on the aboveextracted customer's taste genre information, to read theadvertiser/company registration information having distributed genreinformation in the same genre as the genre shown in the customer's tastegenre information.

[0434] Then, the matching part 268 generates advertiser/companyintroduction information described above with reference to FIG. 17 fromthe advertiser/company registration information read from theadvertiser/company database 211, and sends this from the sending part214 to the portable dedicated terminal 262 via the Internet 204 asadvertiser/company introduction data.

[0435] In this manner, the intermediate server 261 introduces anadvertiser/company that can provide distribution data meeting customer'staste to the customer who has permitted the release of the customerinformation to the advertiser/company.

[0436] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 25, the portable dedicatedterminal 262 executes customer registration at the intermediate server261, similarly to the portable dedicated terminal 202 described abovewith reference to FIG. 11, and also sends various requests to an agencyor the like to obtain content data etc.

[0437] When a permission request indicating the permission of therelease of customer information to the advertiser/company is enteredwith the operating part 240 by customer's operations, the portablededicated terminal 262 generates customer's permission data by a requestdata generating part 270, and sends this from the sending part 242 tothe intermediate server 261 via the Internet 204.

[0438] As a result, if customer information input screen data is sentfrom the intermediate server 261 via the Internet 204, the portablededicated terminal 262 receives this by a receiving part 271, andtransmits this to the reproducing part 244, to display a customerinformation input screen based on the above customer information inputscreen data.

[0439] If customer information is entered on the customer informationinput screen according to the operations of the operating part 240 bythe customer, the portable dedicated terminal 262 generates customerinformation data representing the customer information, by the requestdata generating part 270, and sends this from the sending part 242 tothe intermediate server 261 via the Internet 204.

[0440] In this manner, the portable dedicated terminal 262 can receivethe introduction of an advertiser/company that provides distributiondata meeting customer's taste, based on the advertiser/companyintroduction data provided from the intermediate server 261.

[0441] In this data providing system 260, the intermediate server 261introduced the advertiser/company, the above intermediate server 261executes a contract processing procedure similar to the contractprocessing procedure in the data providing system 200 (FIG. 11)described above with reference to FIG. 24, and the portable dedicatedterminal 262 and the advertiser/company server 203. Thereby, thecustomer and the advertiser/company can make a contract.

[0442] Now, an advertiser/company introduction processing procedure bythe intermediate server 261 and the portable dedicated terminal 202 inthe data providing system 260 will be collectively described. First, asshown in FIG. 27(A), the portable dedicated terminal 262 enters routineRT17 from the starting step, and proceeds to the next step SP191 to waitfor a the permission request of the release of customer information tobe entered. When the permission request is entered with the operatingpart 240 by customer's operations, the portable dedicated terminal 262proceeds to step SP192.

[0443] In step SP192, the portable dedicated terminal 262 generatescustomer's permission data by the request data generating part 270 andsends this from the sending part 242 to the intermediate server 261, andthen proceeds to step SP193.

[0444] At this time, as shown in FIG. 27(B), the intermediate server 261enters routine RT18 from the starting step, and proceeds to the nextstep SP201 to wait for customer's permission data to be sent from theportable dedicated terminal 262. When the intermediate server 261receives the above customer's permission data by the receiving part 266,the intermediate server 261 proceeds to step SP202.

[0445] In step SP202, the intermediate server 261 reads customerinformation input screen data from the customer database 265 based onthe received customer's permission data by the customer informationupdating part 267, and sends this from the sending part 214 to theportable dedicated terminal 262, and then proceeds to step SP203.

[0446] At this time, in step SP193, the portable dedicated terminal 262waits for customer information input screen data to be sent from theintermediate server 261. When the portable dedicated terminal 262receives the above customer information input screen data by thereceiving part 271, the portable dedicated terminal 262 proceeds to stepSP194.

[0447] In step SP194, When customer information is entered by thecustomer via the operating part 240 in the state where the customerinformation input screen is displayed by transmitting the customerinformation input screen data to the reproducing part 244, the portablededicated terminal 262 generates customer information data by therequest data generating part 270 and sends this from the sending part242 to the intermediate server 261, and then proceeds to step SP195.

[0448] At this time, in step SP203, the intermediate server 261 waitsfor the customer information data to be sent from the portable dedicatedterminal 262. When the intermediate server 261 receives the abovecustomer information data by the receiving part 266, the intermediateserver 261 proceeds to step SP204.

[0449] In step SP204, the intermediate server 261 searchesadvertiser/company registration information in the advertiser/companydatabase 211 based on customer's taste genre information in the customerinformation data, to reads advertiser/company registration informationhaving distributed genre information having the same contents as theabove customer's taste genre information, and then proceeds to stepSP205.

[0450] In step SP205, the intermediate server 261 generatesadvertiser/company introduction data based on the advertiser/companyregistration information read from the advertiser/company database 211,and sends this from the sending part 214 to the portable dedicatedterminal 262 to introduce the advertiser/company to the customer. Then,the intermediate server 261 proceeds to step SP206 to finish theprocessing in the intermediate server 261.

[0451] At this time, in step SP195, the portable dedicated terminal 262waits for the advertiser/company introduction data to be sent from theintermediate server 261. When the portable dedicated terminal 262receives the above advertiser/company introduction data by the receivingpart 271, the portable dedicated terminal 262 transmits this to thereproducing part 244 to show the customer the advertisers/companiesintroduced from the intermediate server 261. Then, the portablededicated terminal 262 proceeds to step SP196 to finish the processingin the portable dedicated terminal 262. Thereby, all theadvertiser/company introduction processing procedure by the dataproviding system 260 is finished.

[0452] According to the above configuration, in this data providingsystem 260, when the customer permits the release of the customerinformation to the advertiser/company, the intermediate server 261 sendscustomer information input screen data to the portable dedicatedterminal 262 in response to the customer's permission data sent from theportable dedicated terminal 262.

[0453] As a result, in the data providing system 260, the intermediateserver 261 searches advertiser/company registration information in theadvertiser/company database 211 based on the customer's taste genreinformation in the customer information data sent from the portablededicated terminal 262, to read advertiser/company registrationinformation having distributed genre information having the samecontents as the customer's taste genre information, generatesadvertiser/company introduction data based on the above readadvertiser/company registration information, and sends this to theportable dedicated terminal 262. Thereby, the advertiser/company thatprovides distribution data meeting customer's own taste can beintroduced to the customer.

[0454] Accordingly, in this data providing system 260, when the customerpermits the release of customer information to advertisers/companies,customer information is obtained, and advertiser/company registrationinformation is searched based on the above obtained customerinformation. Therefore, when the customer wants to receive distributiondata from an advertiser/company, the advertiser/company can beintroduced according to the customer's interest.

[0455] That is, in this data providing system 260, even at the time whencustomer's interest has changed between his/her customer registration atthe intermediate server 261 and the permission of the release ofcustomer information to an advertiser/company, or even at the time whenthe number of the using times of the Internet 204 is relatively lessthan the time when the customer just began to use the portable dedicatedterminal 262, customer's interest can be accurately grasped and theadvertiser/company that provides distribution data desired by the abovecustomer can be introduced to the customer.

[0456] According to the above configuration, the intermediate server 261sends customer information input screen data to the portable dedicatedterminal 262 in response to customer's permission data sent from theportable dedicated terminal 262, searches advertiser/companyregistration information in the advertiser/company database 211 based oncustomer's taste genre information in customer information data sentfrom the portable dedicated terminal 262 as the result of the sending,to read advertiser/company registration information having distributedgenre information having the same contents as the above customer's tastegenre information, generates advertiser/company introduction data basedon that advertiser/company registration information and sends this tothe portable dedicated terminal 262. Thereby, in addition to the effectsobtained by the aforementioned fourth embodiment, advertisers/companiescan be introduced to the customer while accurately reflecting customer'sinterest at the time point that the customer wants to receivedistribution data from an advertiser/company. Thus, a data providingsystem in which the customer can further accurately obtain desireddistribution data can be accomplished.

[0457] Note that, in the aforementioned fifth embodiment, theintermediate server 261 searches advertiser/company registrationinformation in the advertiser/company database 211 based on customer'staste genre information in customer information data. This invention,however, is not limited to this and, instead of the customer's tastegenre in the customer information data, advertiser/company registrationinformation in the advertiser/company database 211 may be searched bymatching comments or words in the comments representing customer's tasteor the like in the above customer information data with comments orwords in the comment such as the catchphrase of an advertiser/company inadvertiser/company registration information, or advertiser/companyregistration information in the advertiser/company database 211 may besearched by using all or some of the above customer's taste genreinformation and the comments, and their contract conditions. Thereby,advertisers/companies can be introduced by further accurately reflectingcustomer's taste.

[0458] In the aforementioned fifth embodiment, the intermediate server261 searches advertiser/company registration information in theadvertiser/company database 211 based on the customer's permission dataobtained when the customer permits the release of registrationinformation. This invention, however, is not limited to this and themethod that the intermediate server 261 searches advertiser/companyregistration information in the advertiser/company database 211 based onthe customer's permission data obtained when the customer permitted therelease of registration information, or the method that the intermediateserver 261 searches advertiser/company registration information in theadvertiser/company database 211 based on the customer registrationinformation according to the aforementioned fourth embodiment may bearbitrary selected by the customer and executed. Thereby, a dataproviding system can be used by both types of customers who does notchange his/her interests so much and who relatively change his/herinterests, and thus the usability of the above data providing system canbe improved.

[0459] Furthermore, in the aforementioned fifth embodiment, the customeruses the intermediate server 261 with the portable dedicated terminal262. This invention, however, is not limited to this and a user may usethe intermediate server 261 with other various kinds of data obtainingdevices, provided that the data obtaining devices are devicesconnectable to the Internet 204 by the customer, such as a personalcomputer, a portable telephone and a PDA. Thereby, further morecustomers can use the introduction of advertisers/companies by theintermediate server 261, and thus the introduction can be widelypopularized.

(7) SIXTH EMBODIMENT

[0460]FIG. 28 shows a data providing system 300 according to a sixth,embodiment. A request terminal 302 corresponding to the customer 3described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 (i.e., the requestterminal used by the customer 3), and a portable dedicated terminal 303corresponding to the portable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N describedabove with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 and being only for the agencies 4Ato 4N and accessible only to the data providing server 301 are connectedto a data providing server 301 corresponding to the agencies 4A to 4Ndescribed above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 via the Internet (notshown).

[0461] The data providing server 301 has a customer database 310 forstoring customer registration information and customer registrationscreen data, and a content database 311 for storing a lot of contentdata, content selection screen data, and customizing registration screendata to customize the above content selection screen data according tocustomer's request.

[0462] When registration request data to request registration of thecustomer is sent from the request terminal 302, the data providingserver 301 receives this by a receiving part 312 and takes this in anupdating part 313. The data providing server 301 reads customerregistration screen data from the customer database 310 based on theregistration request data by the above updating part 313, and sends thisfrom a sending part 314 to the request terminal 302.

[0463] As a result, when customer information that was entered on acustomer registration screen based on the customer registration screendata is sent from the request terminal 302, the data providing server301 receives this by the receiving part 312 and takes this in theupdating part 313. The data providing server 301 issues a customer ID tothe customer requesting the registration and adds this to the customerinformation by the above updating part 313. The data providing server301 stores the customer information with the added customer ID in thecustomer database 310 as customer registration information to registerthe customer.

[0464] In this connection, When registering the customer by the updatingpart 313, the data providing server 301 generates registrationcompletion data including the customer ID and sends this from thesending part 314 to the request terminal 302, to notify the customer ofthe completion of the registration and the customer ID.

[0465] When transmission request data to request the transmission ofcontent data is sent from the request terminal 302, the data providingserver 301 receives this by the receiving part 312, and takes this in asearch part 315, reads content selection screen data from the contentdatabase 311 based on the transmission request data by the above searchpart 315, and sends this from the sending part 314 to the requestterminal 302.

[0466] As a result, when reservation information is entered on thecontent selection screen based on the content selection screen data andreservation data representing the above reservation information is sentfrom the request terminal 302, the data providing server 301 receivesthis by the receiving part 312.

[0467] The data providing server 301 reads the specified content datafrom the content database 311 based on the reservation data by thesearch part 315, and sends this from a dedicated terminal, not shown, toa portable dedicated terminal that is not still handed over to thecustomer (not shown) and is directly connected with a cable or the liketo the dedicated terminal to record therein.

[0468] In this manner, the data providing server 301 previously preparesa portable dedicated terminal 303 by accepting an advance reservationfor the purchase or rental of content data and the portable dedicatedterminal 303 from the customer with the request terminal 302 and recordsthe above content data that will be bought or rented in the portablededicated terminal 303 that will be similarly bought or rented. Then,when the customer comes to an agency having the above data providingserver 301, the portable dedicated terminal 303 is handed over to thecustomer and is sold or rented.

[0469] The data providing server 301 can be connected to the portablededicated terminal 303 that was sold or rented to the customer via theInternet. If transmission request data to request the transmission ofcontent data (purchase or rental) is sent from the above portablededicated terminal 303 sold or rented, the data providing server 301receives this by the receiving part 312 and takes this in the searchpart 315.

[0470] At this time, the data providing server 301 reads contentselection screen data from the content database 311 based on thattransmission request data by the search part 315, and sends this fromthe sending part 314 to customer's portable dedicated terminal 303.

[0471] As a result, when content data information to specify contentdata is entered on a content selection screen based on the contentselection screen data and content specifying data representing the abovespecifying information is sent from the portable dedicated terminal 303,the data providing server 301 receives this by the receiving part 312and takes this in the search part 315.

[0472] The data providing server 301 reads the specified content datafrom the content database 311 based on that content specifying data bythe search part 315, and sends this from the sending part 314 to theportable dedicated terminal 303 to record this therein.

[0473] In this manner, the data providing server 301 sends the contentdata to the portable dedicated terminal 303 that was sold or rented tothe customer, via the Internet. Thereby, the customer can buy or rentcontent data with that portable dedicated terminal 303.

[0474] Furthermore, if customizing request data to customize theportable dedicated terminal 303 that was sold or rented to the customeris sent, the data providing server 301 receives this by the receivingpart 313, takes this in the search part 315, reads customizingregistration screen data that has been previously stored in the contentdatabase 311 from this based on that customizing request data by theabove search part 315, and sends this from the sending part 314 to theportable dedicated terminal 303.

[0475] As a result, when screen customizing information for the contentselection screen, which was entered on the customizing registrationscreen based on the customizing registration screen data, is sent fromthe portable dedicated terminal 303 as screen customizing data, the dataproviding server 301 receives this by the receiving part 312, and takesthis in the updating part 313 and the search part 315.

[0476] The data providing server 301 reads the content selection screendata from the content database 311 by the search part 315, processesthis based on the screen customizing data obtained from the customer,and sends thus obtained customized screen data from the sending part 314to the portable dedicated terminal 303.

[0477] In this manner, the data providing server 301 shows the customerthe customized screen based on the customized screen data on theportable dedicated terminal 303 to make the customer confirm whether ornot the content selection screen has been customized as requested. Ifconfirmation data representing that the above content selection screenhas been customized as wanted is sent, the data providing server 301adds the customized screen data to customer registration information inthe customer database 310 and updates the above customer registrationinformation by the updating part 313.

[0478] Thereafter, when transmission request data is sent from thecustomer who requests the customizing of the content selection screenwith the portable dedicated terminal 303, the data providing server 301receives this by the receiving part 312, takes this in the updating part313, reads the screen customizing information being added to customerregistration information on the above customer from the customerdatabase 310 by the above updating part 313, and transmits this to amatching part 316.

[0479] The data providing server 301 reads the content selection screendata from the content database 311 by the matching part 316, processesthis based on the screen customizing information, and sends thusobtained customized screen data from the sending part 314 to theportable dedicated terminal 303.

[0480] Thereby, every time when transmission request data is sent fromthe customer who requests the customizing of the content selectionscreen with the portable dedicated terminal 303, the data providingserver 301 makes the customer specify content data to buy or rent on thecustomized screen based on the customized screen data according to acustomizing request by the above customer.

[0481] In this connection, in the portable dedicated terminal 303 beingrented by the customer, also information to customize the color of thecase of the above portable dedicated terminal 303 can be selected on thecustomizing registration screen. If case customizing information tospecify the color of the case is sent from that portable dedicatedterminal 303 as case customizing data, the data providing server 301receives this by the receiving part 312, takes this in the updating part313, adds the case customizing information to customer registrationinformation in the customer database 310 and updates the above customerregistration information by the above updating part 313.

[0482] Thereby, when the portable dedicated terminal 303 is rented tothe customer again, or when the portable dedicated terminal 303 is soldto the above customer after that, the portable dedicated terminal 303 ina color specified by the case customizing information will be handedover.

[0483] On the other hand, if the customer enters customer registrationinformation with an operating part 320, the request terminal 302generates registration request data representing a registration requestby a request data generating part 321, and sends this from a sendingpart 322 to the data providing server 301.

[0484] As a result, when the request terminal 302 receives, customerregistration screen data from the data providing server 301 by areceiving part 323, the request terminal 302 transmits this from adisplay control part 324 to a display part 325 to display a customerregistration screen based on that customer registration screen data onthe above display part 325.

[0485] When customer information is entered on the customer registrationscreen according to the operations of the operating part 320 by thecustomer, the request terminal 302 generates customer information databy the request data generating part 321 and sends this from the sendingpart 322 to the data providing server 301 to make the data providingserver 301 execute customer registration.

[0486] When the customer enters a content data transmission request viathe operating part 320, the request terminal 302 generates transmissionrequest data representing that transmission request by the request datagenerating part 321 and sends this from the sending part 322 to the dataproviding server 301.

[0487] As a result, when the request terminal 302 receives contentselection screen data from the data providing server 301 by thereceiving part 323, the request terminal 302 transmits this from thedisplay control part 324 to the display part 325 to display a contentselection screen based on the content selection screen data on the abovedisplay part 325.

[0488] When reservation information is entered on the content selectionscreen according to the operations of the operating part 320 by thecustomer, the request terminal 302 generates reservation data by therequest data generating part 321, and sends this from the sending part322 to the data providing server 301. And the reservation of thepurchase or the rental of the content data and the portable dedicatedterminal 303 by the customer is finished.

[0489] With respect to the portable dedicated terminal 303 sold orrented to the customer in the state where the content data has beenrecorded in its internal storage medium 340, if a reproduction commandis entered via an operating part 341, the portable dedicated terminal303 reproduces the content data that the customer previously bought orrented from the storage medium 340 by a reproduction control part 342,and transmits this to a reproducing part 343 composed of a displaycontrol part, a display part, a speaker, etc to let the customer enjoythe content.

[0490] If the customer enters a content data transmission request withthe operating part 341, the portable dedicated terminal 303 generatestransmission request data representing that transmission request by arequest data generating part 344, and sends this from a sending part 345to the data providing server 301.

[0491] As a result, when the portable dedicated terminal 303 receivescontent selection screen data from the data providing server 301 by areceiving part 346, the portable dedicated terminal 303 transmits thisto the reproducing part 343 to display a content selection screen basedon the content selection screen data.

[0492] If information to specify content data is entered on the contentselection screen according to the operations of the operating part 341,the portable dedicated terminal 303 generates content specifying datarepresenting that specifying information by the request data generatingpart 344, and sends this from the sending part 345 to the data providingserver 301.

[0493] When the portable dedicated terminal 303 receives the contentdata from the data providing server 301 by the receiving part 346, theportable dedicated terminal 303 records this on the storage medium 340by a recording control part 347. Thereby, after that, the content datawill be reproduced from the storage medium 340 by the reproductioncontrol part 342 according to the operations of the operating part 341.

[0494] Furthermore, if the customer enters a customizing request withthe operating part 341, the portable dedicated terminal 303 generatescustomizing request data representing that customizing request by therequest data generating part 344, and sends this from the sending part345 to the data providing server 301.

[0495] As a result, when the portable dedicated terminal 303 receivesthe customizing registration screen data from the data providing server301 by the receiving part 346, the portable dedicated terminal 303transmits this to the reproducing part 343 to display a customizingregistration screen based on that customizing registration screen data.

[0496] If screen customizing information is entered on the customizingregistration screen according to the operations of the operating part341, the portable dedicated terminal 303 generates screen customizingdata representing the screen customizing information by the request datagenerating part 344, and sends this from the sending part 345 to thedata providing server 301.

[0497] As the result of that the screen customizing data was sent to thedata providing server 301, when the portable dedicated terminal 303receives customized screen data from the above data providing server 301by the receiving part 346, the portable dedicated terminal 303 sendsthis to the reproducing part 343 to show the customer a customizedscreen based on the customized screen data.

[0498] As a result, if confirmation information to confirm that thecontent selection screen is customized as requested is entered by thecustomer with the operating part 341, the portable dedicated terminal303 generates confirmation data by the request data generating part 344,and sends this from the sending part 345 to the data providing server301 to store the screen customizing information representing thecustomizing contents that the customer wants in the above data providingserver.

[0499] After the screen customizing data is stored in the data providingserver 301, the portable dedicated terminal 303 sends contenttransmission request data to the data providing server 301. Then, theportable dedicated terminal 303 receives the customized screen data fromthe data providing server 301 by the receiving part 346, and transmitsthis to the reproducing part 343. Thereby, content data for purchase orfor rental can be selected on the customized screen generated bycustomizing the content selection screen.

[0500] In this connection, if case customizing information to customizethe color of the case of the portable dedicated terminal 303 is enteredon the customizing registration screen according to the operations ofthe operating part 341, the portable dedicated terminal 303 generatescase customizing data representing that case customizing information bythe request data generating part 344, and sends this from the sendingpart 345 to the data providing server 301. Thus, the case customizinginformation for the case of the portable dedicated terminal 303 isstored in the data providing server 301.

[0501] In addition to the above configuration, in this sixth embodiment,when creating the content database 311 by obtaining a lot of contentdata from a content server (not shown) being the provider of the contentdata and corresponding to the system management site described abovewith reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, the data providing server 301 obtains apredetermined developmental tool for forming a content selection screenfrom the above content server.

[0502] The data providing server 301 generates content selection screendata in that the shop of the agency is displayed as three-dimensionalvirtual reality space images with the developmental tool and thecustomer can select content data as if he/she selects packaged mediafrom shelves by actually walking in the shop of an agency by the abovethree-dimensional virtual reality space images, and stores the generatedcontent selection screen data in the content database 311.

[0503] In this connection, the data providing server 301 stores the samecontent data as content data in a lot of packaged media actually beingsold or rented at the agency in the content database 311, and generatesthe content selection screen data so that the layout of shelves,checkout counters, steps, etc. in the shop of the agency, and the layoutof the packaged media in the above shelves or the like are almostfaithfully reproduced.

[0504] The data providing server 301 updates the content selectionscreen data at constant timing or arbitrary timing by synchronizing withthe time when new packaged media were put on the shelves in the shop ofthe agency (that is, it is also the time when new content data isobtained from a content server) and the time when the inside of the shopof the agency is remodeled. Thereby, the customer selecting content dataon the content selection screen can have such feeling as to actuallyselect packaged media in the shop of the agency.

[0505] Actually, as shown in FIG. 29, the content selection screen datais composed of plural image data by adding a selection confirmationimage 355 being a two-dimensional image to confirm content data selectedby the customer, to the three-dimensional virtual reality space imagessuch as an “image of exterior of shop” 350 that represents the exteriorof the agency (entrance), an “image of first floor in shop” 351 and an“image of second floor in shop” 352, which represent each floor in theshop, an “image of shelf in shop” 353 that represents each of pluralshelves containing packaged media by genre in the shop with anenlargement, a content selection image 354 to select content data byenlarging the backbones of the packaged media aligned on the shelves,etc.

[0506] In this case, in the image of exterior of shop 350, an enteringbutton 360 to enter the shop and switch the display to the image offirst floor 351 is provided.

[0507] In the image of first floor 351 and the image of second floor352, movement buttons 361 and 362 to switch the display to the image ofsecond floor in shop 352 or the image of first floor in shop 351, whichis another floor, a shelf selection button 363 to select a shelf bygenre and switch the display to the image of shelf in shop 353, and acheckout counter button 364 to switch the display to a selectionconfirmation image 355 after the customer selected content data to buyor rent, are provided.

[0508] Furthermore, in the image of shelf in shop 353, the packagedmedia have been classified by the Japanese alphabet, and a detail button365 to switch the display to the content selection image 354 by theabove classified packaged media is provided.

[0509] In the image of exterior of shop 350, the image of first floor inshop 351, the image of second floor in shop 352 and the contentselection image 354, the image of a human representing the customer(hereinafter, this is referred to as customer's image) 366 and the imageof a human representing a clerk (hereinafter, this is referred to asclerk's image) 367 are displayed. By moving the above customer image 366as if it is actually walking in the shop and by overlapping it on theentering button 360, the movement buttons 361 and 362, the shelfselection button 363, the checkout counter button 364, the backbone ofpackaged media in the content selection image 354, etc. or approximatingit to them and selectively specifying (clicking) these buttons, imagespecifying commands previously allocated to the above buttons can beentered.

[0510] In addition to this, in the image of shelf in shop 353 and theselection confirmation image 355, a cursor to be inversely displayed ona detail button 365, a confirmation button 368, a cancel button 369,etc. (not shown) by overlapping. By moving the above cursor andselectively specifying (clicking) one of these buttons, a commandpreviously allocated to the above button can be entered.

[0511] Specifically, the portable dedicated terminal 303 which receivedcontent selection image data first displays the image of exterior ofshop 350 of a content selection screen by the reproducing part 343,moves the customer's image 366 on the image of exterior of shop 350according to the operation of the operating part 341. If the enteringbutton 360 is selectively specified, the portable dedicated terminal 303displays the image of first floor in shop 351 instead of the image ofexterior of shop 350.

[0512] The portable dedicated terminal 303 moves the customer's image366 on the image of first floor in shop 351 according to the operationof the operating part 341 when the movement button 361 is selectivelyspecified, the portable dedicated terminal 303 displays the image offirst floor in shop 351 instead of the above image of first floor inshop 351.

[0513] In this manner, the portable dedicated terminal 303 moves thecustomer's image 366 on the image of first floor in shop 351 and theimage of second floor in shop 352 according to the operation of theoperating part 341. If one of the shelf selection buttons 363 isselectively specified, the portable dedicated terminal 303 displays theimage of shelf in shop 353 corresponding to the above shelf selectionbutton 363 selectively specified instead of the image of first floor inshop 351 or the image of second floor in shop 352.

[0514] The portable dedicated terminal 303 moves the cursor on the imageof shelf in shop 353 according to the operation of the operating part341. If one of the detail buttons 365 is selectively specified, theportable dedicated terminal 303 displays a corresponding contentselection image 354 instead of the above image of shelf in shop 353.

[0515] After the customer's image 366 was moved on the content selectionimage 354 and content data was selectively specified as one of packagedmedia according to the operation of the operating part 341, if themovement buttons 361 or 362 is selectively specified, the portablededicated terminal 303 displays the image of first floor in shop 351 orthe image of second floor in shop 352 again instead of the above contentselection image 354. In this manner, for instance, if the customer'simage 366 is moved on the image of second floor in shop 352 and thecheckout counter button 364 is selectively specified, the portablededicated terminal 303 displays the selection confirmation image 355instead of the above image of second floor in shop 352.

[0516] Here, in the selection confirmation image 355, the title of thecontent data selected by the customer, customer's name, customer ID,password, etc. are displayed. The portable dedicated terminal 303 movesthe cursor according to the operation of the operating part 341, so thatthe rental term or purchase of content data can be entered. If the aboverental term or purchase is entered, a charge for the rental or thebuying of the content data is displayed responding to that.

[0517] If moving the cursor and on the selection confirmation image 355and selectively specifying the confirmation button 368 according to theoperation of the operating part 341, the portable dedicated terminal 303generates content specifying data by the request data generating part344 by using information in the selection confirmation image 355 asspecification information by the request data generating part 344, andsends the above generated content specifying data from the sending part345 to the data providing server 301. Thereby, the customer can obtainthe content data that he/she specified.

[0518] On the contrary, if moving the cursor on the selectionconfirmation image 355 and selectively specifying the cancel button 369according to the operation of the operating part 341, the portablededicated terminal 303 displays for example the image of first floor inshop 351 instead of the above selection confirmation image 355. Thereby,the customer can select content data again.

[0519] In addition to this, as shown in FIGS. 30(A) and 30(B), if movingthe customer's image 366 and passing it in front of each shelf on theimage of first floor in shop 351 or the image of second floor in shop352 according to the operation of the operating part 341, the portablededicated terminal 303 reproduces content data of which theadvertisement set by the agency is wanted, for few seconds by matchingwith the genre of each shelf. Thereby, the customer views the contentdata intended by the agency, and it can be advertised to the customer.

[0520] In this connection, the data quantity of such content selectionscreen data is relatively large. Therefore, when the data providingserver 301 receives transmission request data from the portablededicated terminal 303, the data providing server 301 first sends thedata of the image of exterior of shop 350 to the above portablededicated terminal 303 as content selection screen data. Then, if theentering button 360 is selectively specified on the above image ofexterior of shop 350, the data, providing server 301 receives thatnotification and sends the data of the image of first floor in shop 351.In this manner, the data providing server 301 receives a notificationand sends corresponding image data, every time when the switching of thedisplay to another image is specified from the portable dedicatedterminal 303 by the entering button 360, the movement buttons 361 and362, etc. on each image forming the content selection screen data.

[0521] Furthermore, if the customer's image 366 is moved to a specifiedcoordinate position that has been previously specified to reproducecontent data for advertisement on the image of first floor in shop 351and the image of second floor in shop 352 and the data providing server301 is notified of the specified coordinate position from the portablededicated terminal 303, the data providing server 301 reads thepredetermined part of the content data corresponding to the abovespecified coordinate position that has been previously stored in thecontent database 311 as commercial data by the search part 315, andsends this from the sending part 314 to the portable dedicated terminal303.

[0522] The data providing server 301 divides the content selectionscreen data into the data of each image and content data foradvertisement, and sequentially sends this to the portable dedicatedterminal 303. Thereby, it can be prevented that the capacity of thestorage medium 340 in the above portable dedicated terminal 303 becomeslarge.

[0523] By the way, in the data providing server 301, on a customizingregistration screen to be provided to the portable dedicated terminal303 according to a customizing request by the customer, various screencustomizing information such as change of an image specifying commandpreviously and addition of a new input part to an arbitrary image thathave been previously allocated to the buttons (the entering button 360etc.) in each image forming the content selection screen described abovewith reference to FIG. 29, and also the rearrangement of packaged mediain the content selection image 354 into for example the order of createddate of content data, arbitrary change of the background color of theabove content selection image 354 and selection confirmation image 355can be entered.

[0524] Thereby, for instance, as shown in FIG. 31, the data providingserver 301 switches the display of the content selection screen from theimage of exterior of shop 370 to a content selection image 372 based onthe screen customizing data obtained from the portable dedicatedterminal 303 according to the selective specifying of an entry-to-shopbutton 371. Then, the data providing server 301 switches the displayfrom the above content selection image 372 to the selection confirmationimage 355, or provides a new input part 373 on the image of exterior ofshop 370 to make the customer arbitrary enter the genre of content dataand switching the display to the content selection image 372corresponding to that input, or newly provides an input part 374 also onthe content select image 372 to make the customer enter by specifyingthe rental or the buying of content data. In this manner, the display ofthe content selection screen can be customized according to customer'srequest.

[0525] Accordingly, in the data providing server 301, the usability ofthe content selection screen can be remarkably improved for the customerwho frequently obtains content data with the portable dedicated terminal303 and also the customer who obtains content data in the comparativelysame genre.

[0526] In this connection, also when the data providing server 301received transmission request data from the request terminal 302, thedata providing server 301 sends content selection screen data composedof the data of each of the images described above with reference to FIG.29, to the above request terminal 302.

[0527] Now, a content providing processing procedure using contentselection screen data by the data providing server 301 and the portablededicated terminal 303 in the data providing system 300 will becollectively described. First, as shown in FIG. 32(A), the portablededicated terminal 303 enters routine RT20 from the starting step, andproceeds to step SP211.

[0528] In step SP211, the portable dedicated terminal 303 waits for atransmission request to be entered by customer's operations via theoperating part 341. When the above transmission request is entered, theportable dedicated terminal 303 proceeds to step SP212.

[0529] In step SP212, the portable dedicated terminal 303 generatestransmission request data by the request data generating part 344 andsends this from the sending part 345 to the data providing server 301,and proceeds to step SP213.

[0530] As shown in FIG. 32(B), the data providing server 301 entersroutine RT21 from the starting step, and proceeds to step SP221. In stepSP221, the data providing server 301 waits the time to update contentselection screen data. If it arrives at the above time to update, thedata providing server 301 proceeds to step SP222 to update the contentselection screen data, and proceeds to step SP223.

[0531] In step SP223, the data providing server 301 waits fortransmission request data to be sent from the portable dedicatedterminal 303. When the data providing server 301 receives thetransmission request data by the receiving part 312, the data providingserver 301 proceeds to step SP224 to read the content selection screendata from the content database 311 by the search part 315 and sends thisfrom the sending part 314 to the portable dedicated terminal 303, andproceeds to step SP225.

[0532] At this time, in step SP213, the portable dedicated terminal 303waits for content selection screen data to be sent from the dataproviding server 301. When the portable dedicated terminal 303 receivesthe content selection screen data by the receiving part 346, theportable dedicated terminal 303 transmits that content selection screendata to the reproducing part 343 to display the image of exterior ofshop 350 being the content selection screen, and then proceeds to stepSP214.

[0533] In step SP214, the portable dedicated terminal 303 starts asubroutine described later. When specifying information is entered oneach image forming the content selection screen according to theoperations of the operating part 341 by the customer, the portablededicated terminal 303 proceeds to step SP215.

[0534] In step SP215, the portable dedicated terminal 303 generatescontent specifying data by the request data generating part 344 andsends this from the sending part 345 to the data providing server 301,and proceeds to step SP216.

[0535] At this time, in step SP225, the data providing server 301 startsa subroutine described later. The data providing server 301 properlyreads each image data forming content selection screen data andcommercial data from the content database 311 by the search part 315,and sends this from the sending part 314 to the portable dedicatedterminal 303. Then, when the data providing server 301 receives contentspecifying data from the above portable dedicated terminal 303, the dataproviding server 301 proceeds to step SP226.

[0536] In step SP226, the data providing server 301 searches contentdata in the content database 311 based on the content specifying data bythe search part 315 to read the specified content data, and proceeds tostep SP227.

[0537] In step SP227, the data providing server 301 sends the contentdata read from the content database 311 from the sending part 314 to theportable dedicated terminal 303, and then proceeds to step SP228 tofinish the above processing by the data providing server 301.

[0538] On the other hand, in step SP216, the portable dedicated terminal303 waits that the content data to be sent from the data providingserver 301. When the portable dedicated terminal 303 receives the abovecontent data, the portable dedicated terminal 303 proceeds to step SP217to record that content data on the storage medium 340 by the recordingcontrol part 347. Then, the portable dedicated terminal 303 proceeds tostep SP218 to finish the above processing by the portable dedicatedterminal 303. Thus, the data providing server 301 finishes all thecontent providing processing procedure with the content selection screendata.

[0539] In this connection, as shown in FIG. 33(A), the portablededicated terminal 303 starts a subroutine in step SP214 and enters stepSP231. In the above step SP231 and the next step SP232, the portablededicated terminal 303 waits for an image specifying command to beentered on each image such as the image of exterior of shop 350 formingthe content selection screen displayed by the reproducing part 343described above with reference to FIG. 29 according to the operations ofthe operating part 341 (that is, the entry-to-shop button 360 or thelike is selectively specified), and waits for the customer's image 366to be moved to the specified coordinate position on the above image (theimage of first floor in shop 351 etc.)

[0540] In step SP231, if the image specifying command is entered bymoving the customer's image 366 and selectively specifying theentry-to-shop button 360 or the like on the image of exterior of shop350 or the like according to the operations of the operating part 341,the portable dedicated terminal 303 proceeds to step SP233 to generateimage request data representing an image specifying command that hasbeen previously allocated to the above selectively specified button bythe request data generating part 344, and sends this from the sendingpart 345 to the data providing server 301, and proceeds to step SP234.

[0541] At this time, as shown in FIG. 33(B), the data providing server301 starts a subroutine in step SP225 and enters step SP251. In theabove step SP251 and the next step SP252, the data providing server 301waits for image request data and specified coordinate position data tobe sent from the portable dedicated terminal 303. In that step SP251,when the data providing server 301 receives the image request data sentfrom the portable dedicated terminal 303 by the receiving part 312, thedata providing server 301 proceeds to step SP253.

[0542] In step SP253, the data providing server 301 searches contentdata in the content database 311 based on the image request data by thesearch part 315 to read the specified image data, and sends this fromthe sending part 314 to the portable dedicated terminal 303, andproceeds to step SP254.

[0543] At this time, in step SP234, the portable dedicated terminal 303waits for the image data to be sent from the data providing server 301.When the portable dedicated terminal 303 receives the image data by thereceiving part 346, the portable dedicated-terminal 303 proceeds to stepSP235.

[0544] In step SP235, the portable dedicated terminal 303 transmits thereceived image data to the reproducing part 343 to newly display animage based on the received image data instead of the image of thecontent selection screen being displayed at present. Then, the portablededicated terminal 303 proceeds to step SP236 to determine whether ornot the confirmation button 368 has been selectively specified on theselection confirmation image 355.

[0545] Obtaining a negative result in this step SP236 means that theselection confirmation image 355 has not been displayed yet by thereproducing part 343 by the reproducing part 343 or that although theabove selection confirmation image 355 has been displayed, theconfirmation button 368 has not been selectively specified because of inthe middle of entering to specify buying or rental for the content data.At this time, the portable dedicated terminal 303 returns to step SP231.

[0546] In step SP232, the portable dedicated terminal 303 moves thecustomer's image 366 to the specified coordinate position on the imageof first floor in shop 351 or the like according to the operation of theoperating part 341, and proceeds to step SP237 to generate specifiedcoordinate position data representing that specified coordinate positionby the request data generating part 344 and sends this from the sendingpart 345 to the data providing server 301, and proceeds to step SP238.

[0547] At this time, in step SP252, the data providing server 301 waitsfor the specified coordinate position data to be sent from the portablededicated terminal 303. When the data providing server 301 receives thespecified coordinate position data by the receiving part 312, the dataproviding server 301 proceeds to step SP255 to search commercial data inthe content database 311 based on the specified coordinate position databy the search part 315 and to read specified commercial data, and sendsthis from the sending part 314 to the portable dedicated terminal 303,and proceeds to step SP254.

[0548] In step SP254, the data providing server 301 determines whetheror not it received content specifying data from the portable dedicatedterminal 303, and sequential repeats the processing loop of stepsSP251-SP252-SP253-SP254-SP255 until receiving the content specifyingdata, and sends image data and commercial data according to the imagerequest data and the specified coordinate position data sent from theportable dedicated terminal 303.

[0549] When the data providing server 301 receives the contentspecifying data in step SP254, the data providing server 301 pulls outof this subroutine and proceeds to step SP226 in the processingprocedure in the data providing server 301 described above withreference to FIG. 32(B).

[0550] On the other hand, in step SP238, the portable dedicated terminal303 waits for commercial data to be sent from the data providing server301. When the portable dedicated terminal 303 receives the commercialdata by the receiving part 346, the portable dedicated terminal 303proceeds to step SP239 to transmit that commercial data to thereproducing part 343. Thus, the customer views a part of content basedon the commercial data and the above content are advertised to thecustomer. Then, the portable dedicated terminal 303 proceeds to stepSP236.

[0551] Until obtaining an affirmative result in step SP236, the portablededicated terminal 303 returns to step SP231 and sequentially repeatsthe processing loop of the above stepsSP231-SP232-SP233-SP234-SP235-SP236-SP237-SP238-SP239. Thus, theportable dedicated terminal 303 makes the customer select desiredcontent data by displaying each image of the content selection screenwhile properly switching the display with mixing the advertisement ofcontent by the reproducing part 343.

[0552] Then, in step SP236, if confirming that the confirmation button368 was selectively specified on the selection confirmation image 355 onthe content selection screen, the portable dedicated terminal 303 pullsout of this subroutine and proceeds to step SP215 of the processingprocedure in the portable dedicated terminal 303 described above withreference to FIG. 32(A).

[0553] A content selection screen customizing processing procedure bythe data providing server 301 and the portable dedicated terminal 303 inthis data providing system 300 will be collectively described. First, asshown in FIG. 34(A), the portable dedicated terminal 303 enters routineRT22 from the starting step and proceeds to step SP261.

[0554] In step SP261, the portable dedicated terminal 303 waits for thecustomer to enter a customizing request via the operating part 341. Whenthe customizing request is entered, the portable dedicated terminal 303proceeds to step SP262 to generate customizing request data by therequest data generating part 344 and sends this from the sending part345 to the data providing server 301, and proceeds to step SP263.

[0555] At this time, as shown in FIG. 34(B), the data providing server301 enters routine RT23 from the starting step and proceeds to stepSP271 to wait for the customizing request data to be sent from theportable dedicated terminal 303. When the data providing server 301receives the customizing request data by the receiving part 312, thedata providing server 301 proceeds to step SP272 to read customizingregistration screen data from the content database 311 by the searchpart 315 and sends this from the sending part 314 to the portablededicated terminal 303, and proceeds to step SP273.

[0556] In step SP263, the portable dedicated terminal 303 waits for thecustomizing registration screen data to be sent from the data providingserver 301. When the portable dedicated terminal 303 receives thecustomizing registration screen data by the receiving part 346, theportable dedicated terminal 303 transmits this to the reproducing part343 to display a customizing registration screen based on thecustomizing registration screen data by the above reproducing part 343,and proceeds to step SP264.

[0557] In step SP264, the portable dedicated terminal 303 waits forscreen customizing information to be entered on the customizingregistration screen according to the operations of the operating part341. When the above screen customizing information is entered, theportable dedicated terminal 303 proceeds to step SP265 to generatescreen customizing data by the request data generating part 344 andsends this from the sending part 345 to the data providing server 301,and proceeds to step SP266.

[0558] At this time, in step SP273, the data providing server 301 waitsfor the screen customizing data to be sent from the portable dedicatedterminal 303. When the data providing server 301 receives the abovescreen customizing data by the receiving part 312, the data providingserver 301 proceeds to step SP274.

[0559] In step SP274, the data providing server 301 reads the contentselection screen data from the content database 311 by the search part315, processes this based on the screen customizing data, and sends thusobtained customized screen data from the sending part 314 to theportable dedicated terminal 303, and proceeds to step SP275.

[0560] On the other hand, in step SP266, the portable dedicated terminal303 waits for that the customized screen data to be sent from the dataproviding server 301. When the portable dedicated terminal 303 receivesthe customized screen data by the receiving part 346, the portablededicated terminal 303 sends this to the reproducing part 343 to displaya customizing screen based on the customized screen data, and proceedsto step SP267.

[0561] In step SP267, as a result of that the customized screen wasshown to the customer by the reproducing part 343, if that the presentsetting is not desired customizing is specified by the above customerwith the operating part 341, the portable dedicated terminal 303generates recustomizing data to regenerate the screen customizinginformation again by the request data generating part 344 and sends thisfrom the sending part 345 to the data providing server 301, returns tostep SP264, and repeats again the processing loop of stepsSP264-SP265-SP266-SP267.

[0562] On the contrary, in step SP267, if that the present customizingis desired customizing is specified by the customer with the operatingpart 341, the portable dedicated terminal 303 proceeds to step SP268 togenerate confirmation data by the request data generating part 344 andsends this from the sending part 345 to the data providing server 301,and proceeds to step SP269 to finish the above processing in theportable dedicated terminal 303.

[0563] On the other hand, in step SP275, the data providing server 301receives the recustomizing data or the confirmation data from theportable dedicated terminal 303 by the receiving part 312. When the dataproviding server 301 receives the recustomizing data by the abovereceiving part 312, the data providing server 301 returns to step SP273,and repeats the processing loop of steps SP273-SP274-SP275 again.

[0564] In step SP275, when the data providing server 301 receives theconfirmation data by the receiving part 312, the data providing server301 proceeds to step SP276 to add the screen customizing data to thecustomer registration information in the customer database 310 andupdate the customer registration information by the updating part 313,and proceeds to step SP277 to finish the above processing of the dataproviding server 301. Thus, all the customizing processing procedure bythe data providing system 300 is finished.

[0565] A content providing processing procedure using the customizedscreen data by the data providing server 301 and the portable dedicatedterminal 303 in the data providing system 300 will be collectivelydescribed. Referring to FIG. 35(A) shown by adding the same referencenumerals to corresponding parts in FIG. 32(A), the portable dedicatedterminal 303 enters routine RT24 from the starting step, proceeds tostep SP221, sequentially executes the processing of the above step SP221and the following step SP222 to send transmission request data to thedata providing server 301, and proceeds to step SP281.

[0566] At this time, referring to FIG. 35(B) shown by adding the samereference numerals to corresponding parts in FIG. 32(B), the dataproviding server 301 enters routine RT25 from the starting step,proceeds to step SP221, sequentially executes the processing of theabove steps SP221 to SP223 to receive transmission request data from theportable dedicated terminal 303, and proceeds to step SP291.

[0567] In step SP291, the data providing server 301 reads screencustomizing data being added to the customer registration information onthe customer who requested to obtain the content data from the customerdatabase 310 by the updating part 313, processes the content selectionscreen data read from the content database 311 based on the screencustomizing data by the search part 315, and sends thus obtainedcustomized screen data from the sending part 314 to the portablededicated terminal 303, and proceeds to step SP225.

[0568] The data providing server 301 sequentially executes theprocessing of the above steps SP225, SP226 and SP227, and then proceedsto step SP292 to finish the above processing in the data providingserver 301.

[0569] On the other hand, in step SP281, the portable dedicated terminal303 waits for the customized screen data to be sent from the dataproviding server 301. When the portable dedicated terminal 303 receivingthe customized screen data by the receiving part 346, the portablededicated terminal 303 transmits that customized screen data to thereproducing part 343 to display for example the image of the exterior ofthe shop being a customized screen, and proceeds to step SP214.

[0570] In step SP214, the portable dedicated terminal 303 sequentiallyexecutes the processing of the above steps SP214 to SP217, and thenproceeds to step SP282 to finish the above processing of the portablededicated terminal 303. Thus, all the content providing processingprocedure by means of the customized screen data by the data providingsystem 300 is finished.

[0571] According to the above configuration, in this data providingsystem 300, if the data providing server 301 receives customizingrequest data from the portable dedicated terminal 303 that is only foragency and can access only the above data providing server 301, the dataproviding server 301 sends customizing registration screen data to theabove portable dedicated terminal 303 according to this. If screencustomizing information for a content selection screen that was enteredon a customizing registration screen based on that customizingregistration screen data is sent from the above portable dedicatedterminal 303 as screen customizing data to the data providing server301, the data providing server 301 receives and adds this tocorresponding customer registration information in the customer database310 and registering the screen customizing data.

[0572] Then, in this data providing system 300, if the data providingserver 301 receives transmission request data from the portablededicated terminal 303 of the customer who registered the screencustomizing data by the data providing server 301, the data providingserver 301 reads the above screen customizing data from the customerdatabase 310, and also reads content selection screen data from thecustomer database 311, and processes the above read content selectionscreen data based on the screen customizing data and sends thus obtainedcustomized screen data to the portable dedicated terminal 303. Thereby,the customer can select desired content data on the customized screenobtained by customizing the above content selection screen according tocustomer's request.

[0573] In this data providing system 300, since the portable dedicatedterminal 303 can access only the data providing server 301 that providescontent data, the content selection screen can be easily customized soas to meet the taste of the customer who uses the above portablededicated terminal 303 for content data (that is, genre). Thus, theusability of the content selection screen can be remarkably improved.

[0574] Moreover, in this data providing system 300, a content selectionscreen previously generated by mixing a three-dimensional virtualreality space image that represents the inside of the shop of an agencyis provided from the data providing server 301 to the portable dedicatedterminal 303 so that the customer can easily select content data. Andthat content selection screen can be customized according to customer'srequest. Therefore, the usability of the above content selection screencan be further improved.

[0575] Furthermore, in this data providing system 300, when the dataproviding server 301 obtained screen customizing data from the portablededicated terminal 303, the content selection screen data is customizedbased on the above screen customizing data, and the customer can confirmthis on the portable dedicated terminal 303. Therefore, the abovecontent selection screen can be properly customized as the customerdesired.

[0576] In this data providing system 300, since the portable dedicatedterminal 303 is accessible only to the data providing server 301 thatprovides content data and the content selection screen to be provided tothe above portable dedicated terminal 303 at the time when the customerobtains the content data can be customized according to customer'srequest, the customer who uses the portable dedicated terminal 303 forthe purpose of obtaining content data can remarkably easily use theabove data providing system 300.

[0577] As a result, in this data providing system 300, the percentage ofcustomers who use the data providing server 301 (also being an agency)for the purpose of obtaining content data can be remarkably improved.

[0578] Furthermore, in this data providing system 300, since thecustomer can use such portable dedicated terminal 303 accessible only tothe data providing server 301 by either systems of purchase and rental,also the customer who does not own a device to use the Internet, thecustomer who although owns the above device, is inexperienced inoperation to connect to the Internet, and the customer who almost doesnot have knowledge of the Internet itself, can easily obtain contentdata from the data providing server 301.

[0579] According to the above configuration, the data providing server301 sends the customizing registration screen data according to thecustomizing request data that was sent from the portable dedicatedterminal 303 being only for agency and accessible only to the above dataproviding server 301 to the portable dedicated terminal 303, and thedata providing server 301 registers the screen customizing data sentfrom the above portable dedicated terminal 303 in the customer database310. Then, the data providing server 301 processes the content selectionscreen data based on the screen customizing data read from the customerdatabase 310 according to the transmission request data sent from theportable dedicated terminal 303, and sends thus obtained customizedscreen data to the portable dedicated terminal 303. Thereby, the contentselection screen can be easily customized so as to meet the taste of thecustomer who uses the portable dedicated terminal 303 for content data,and the usability of the above content selection screen can beremarkably improved. Thus, a data providing system in which customerscan easily select content data can be accomplished.

[0580] Note that, in the aforementioned sixth embodiment, the dataproviding server 301 is installed in an agency. This invention, however,is not only limited to this. The place to install the data providingserver 301 may not be particularly prescribed, provided that the dataproviding server 301 is connected to the Internet. And by providing adatabase to manage plural agencies in the data providing server 301 andstoring agency IDs peculiar to each agency, content selection screendata and customizing registration screen data in the above database bymaking a correspondence, the content selection screen data and thecustomizing registration screen data of an agency that has beenpreviously corresponded or an agency that was arbitrary selected may beprovided to the above portable dedicated terminal 303 according to anaccess from the portable dedicated terminal 303.

[0581] In the aforementioned sixth embodiment, in the data providingserver 301, content selection screen data is generated by means of thedevelopmental tool that was provided from the content server. Thisinvention, however, is not limited to this and content selection screendata may be generated by entrusting it to a company for generatingcontent selection screen data or the like from the data providing server301.

[0582] In the aforementioned sixth embodiment, content selection screendata representing the inside of the shop of an agency bythree-dimensional virtual reality space images is provided by the dataproviding server 301. This invention, however, is not limited to thisand content selection screen data generated as a home page by listingthe titles of a lot of content data or the like and displaying them in alist may be provided.

[0583] By the way, as shown in FIG. 36, in a data providing system 390for providing content selection screen data generated as a home page, asscreen customizing data D10 that will be sent from a portable dedicatedterminal 391 to a data providing server 392, customizing such that forinstance tunes (i.e., content data) by an arbitrary artist (or genre)are arranged in date order and a background color is specified in anarbitrary color is possible for the content selection screen data. Ifthe above data providing server 392 receives transmission request datafrom the portable dedicated terminal 391 after registered the receivedscreen customizing data D10 in a customer database 393, the dataproviding server 392 processes the content selection screen data in acontent database 395 based on the screen customizing data D10 read fromthe customer database 393 by a search part 394, and sends thus obtainedcustomized screen data D11 to the portable dedicated terminal 391.

[0584] In this connection, in the above data providing system 390, ifthe data providing server 392 receives the screen customizing data D10,the data providing server 392 determines whether or not content data foran amount that can satisfy the request by the above screen customizingdata D10 have been stored in a content database 394. If the content datafor the amount that can satisfy the request by the above screencustomizing data D10 has not been stored in the above content database394, the data providing server 392 may generate content transmissionrequest data D12 and send this to a content server 395, to read thespecified content data from the content database 396 in the abovecontent server 395 and supply this to the data providing server 392.Thereby, content selection screen data can be customized by furtherproperly corresponding to customer's request. Note that, such supply ofcontent data from the content server 395 to the data providing server392 also can be applied to the aforementioned sixth embodiment.

[0585] Furthermore, in the aforementioned sixth embodiment, the dataproviding server 301 simply obtains a lot of content data provided froma content server and storing them in the content database 311. Thisinvention, however, is not limited to this and the data providing server301 may obtain compressed content data from a content server, store thisin the content database 311 as it is, and provide the above compressedcontent data to the portable dedicated terminal 303. Thereby, thelimited capacity of the content database 311 in the data providingserver 301 and the storage medium 340 in the portable dedicated terminal303 can be effectively used to record content data.

[0586] In this connection, as shown in FIG. 37, in a content server, aswell as a lot of content data, many data tables 400 in which the abovecontent data are represented by classifying by genre may have beenstored in a content database. And if the genre of content data to betreated for providing is specified by preceding the start of thedistribution of content data from a data providing server, content datain the specified genre may be selected from the above data table atrandom for each data providing server or agency respectively, and theabove selected content data group “a” and “b” may be provided torespectively different data providing server or agency. Thereby, a partof or all different content data can be mutually provided between dataproviding servers for treating content data in the same genre. As aresult, the customer can use many data providing servers dealing incontent data in the same genre.

(8) SEVENTH EMBODIMENT

[0587]FIG. 38 shows a data providing system 500 according to a seventhembodiment. A portable dedicated terminal 502 that corresponds to theportable dedicated terminals 7A to 7N described above with reference toFIGS. 1 to 3 and is accessible only to the above data providing server501, and a package providing server 503 that corresponds to the salescompany 5 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 arerespectively connected to a data providing server 501 corresponding tothe agencies 4A to 4N described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3,via the Internet 504.

[0588] The data providing server 501 has a customer database 510, acontent database 511 and a packaged media database 512. In the abovecustomer database 510, customer registration information composed ofcustomer information such as name, address, account number, etc.,obtained from the customer who wants a registration, and a customer IDissued to the above customer is stored and the customer is registered.Thereby, the customer can use the data providing server 501.

[0589] In the content database 511, as content data to be provided tocustomers, content data composed of many single tunes (music) has beenstored, and a data table generated by listing content additionalinformation composed of content ID peculiar to each of the above contentdata, title (the title of tune), sale price, rental price, etc., hasbeen stored.

[0590] Furthermore, the data providing server 501 makes thecorrespondence between content data being a single tune and packagedmedia storing the same content data as packaged media equivalentlyexchangeable. In the packaged media database 512, a data table formed bylisting the title of the content data being a single tune, the title ofthe packaged media being a single CD storing the above content data, thesale price of the above packaged media, package identificationinformation peculiar to the packaged media (hereinafter, this isreferred to as package ID), etc. with making the correspondence betweenthem according to that correspondence in equivalently exchange.

[0591] If for example, the registered customer sends specifyinginformation on content data to rent from a portable dedicated terminal502 (that he/she bought or rented) as content specifying data, the dataproviding server 501 receives this by a receiving part 515 and takesthis in a received data judging part 516.

[0592] Here, as shown in FIGS. 38 and 39, in the content specifying dataD20 sent from the portable dedicated terminal 502, information such ascustomer's name, customer ID, password, the title of content data D21that the customer wants to rent, equivalent exchange informationrepresenting whether or not equivalent exchange has been performed,rental term, method of payment for rental charge have been stored.

[0593] In this connection, the customer ID stored in the contentspecifying data D20 was issued when the customer was registered in thedata providing server 501 and has been stored in the portable dedicatedterminal 502 that the above customer is using The customer ID is storedin various data sent from the above portable dedicated terminal 502 toidentify the customer.

[0594] The equivalent exchange information stored in the contentspecifying data D20 shows for example, “0” when the customer's purposeis to obtain the content data D21 and the customer does not hopeequivalent exchange. On the contrary, when the customer hoped equivalentexchange, the equivalent exchange information shows “1”, for example.

[0595] The data providing server 501 identifies the above contentspecifying data D20 as data to obtain the content data D21 based on theequivalent exchange information stored in the content specifying dataD20 by the received data judging part 516.

[0596] Then, by the received data judging part 516, the data providingserver 501 searches the content database 511 for a data table based onthe title of the content data D21 stored in the content specifying dataD20, changes that title to a content ID, generates read-of-contentcontrol data D22, and sends this to a content ID extracting part 517.

[0597] In this connection, when the read-of-content control data D22 isgenerated from the content specifying data D20 by the received datajudging part 516, by a customer's request search part 518, the dataproviding server 501 searches the customer database 510 based on thecustomer ID stored in the content specifying data D20 to detect thecoded name of the customer stored therein as customer registrationinformation by the customer's request search part 518. And if credit hasbeen specified as the method of payment for rental charges, the dataproviding server 501 detects the account number of the customer. Then,the data providing server 501 stores the above detected customer's nameand account number in the read-of-content control data D22 by thereceiving data generating part 516.

[0598] The data providing server 501 extracts the content ID from theread-of-content control data D22 by the content ID extracting part 517,and transmits this to a content search part 519 with the read-of-contentcontrol data D22. The data providing server 501 searches the contentdatabase 511 to read the content data D21 specified by the customer byabove content search part 519, and transmits the read content data D21to a send data generating part 520 with the read-of-content control dataD22.

[0599] The data providing server 501 adds copy history information tothe read-of-content control data D22, generates header data D23, andadds the above generated header data D23 to the content data D21 by thesend data generating part 520, and then sends this from a sending part521 to the portable dedicated terminal 502 via the Internet 504. Thus,the customer can rent the content data D21 that he/she specified.

[0600] In this connection, the data providing server 501 has anaccounting part not shown. When the customer specified payment forrental charges by credit, the data providing server 501 executesaccounting by that accounting part before sending the specified contentdata D21 to the portable dedicated terminal 502 of the above customer.Therefore, the data providing server 501 generates accounting data basedon the rental charge according to the term to rent the content data D21(that is, charge amount to the customer), the account number of thecustomer in the customer registration information, and the accountnumber of, for example, an agency following the data providing server501.

[0601] As the result of that the data providing server 501 sent theaccount data generated by the accounting from the sending part 521 to aspecified settlement processing server (not shown) via the Internet 504,if the data providing server 501 is notified of the completion ofelectronic settlement processing based on the account data by the abovesettlement processing server 104, the data providing server 501 addsinformation such as the title and the content ID of the content data D21that the customer rented, the amount that the customer paid for thatrental, to the customer registration information on the customer in thecustomer database 510, to update the customer registration information.Thereby, the data providing server 501 can grasp the information on thecontent data D21 that the customer rented, the state of payment for theabove rental, or the like, by the customer registration information.

[0602] At this time, the data providing server 501 also notifies thesend data generating part 520 of the notification received from thesettlement processing server, and stores information on the amount thatthe customer paid for the rental of the content data D21 in the headerdata. D23 instead of the account number by the above send datagenerating part 520. In this manner, if the customer completes paymentof the rental charge, the data providing server 501 sends the contentdata D21 with the header data D23 added to the portable dedicatedterminal 502. The portable dedicated terminal 502 is rented to thecustomer.

[0603] In this manner, in the data providing system 500, the contentdata D21 is rented to the customer from the data providing server 501with the portable dedicated terminal 502. When the rental term of theabove content data D21 is finished and the customer brings that portablededicated terminal 502 into the agency, the rented content data D21 isdeleted for return.

[0604] Furthermore, in this data providing system 500, if the portablededicated terminal 502 is not brought into the agency although therental term has passed, that content data D21 is deleted or made intothe state not to be reproduced by the above portable dedicated terminal502 for return.

[0605] By the way, if equivalent exchange request data that the customerhopes to equivalently exchange the content data that the customer ownsby rental (single tune) for packaged media (single. CD) is sent from theportable dedicated terminal 502, the data providing server 501 receivesthis by the receiving part 515 and takes this in the received datajudging part 516.

[0606] Now, as shown in FIGS. 38 and 40, in the equivalent exchangerequest data D30 sent from the portable dedicated terminal 502,equivalent exchange information representing the name of the customer,customer ID, password, the title of the content data D21 that thecustomer showed for equivalent exchange, and whether or not equivalentexchange was performed (“1” is shown) has been stored.

[0607] The data providing server 501 determines that the aboveequivalent exchange request data D30 is data to equivalently exchangethe content data D21 for the packaged media, based on the equivalentexchange information stored in the equivalent exchange request data D30by the received data judging part 516, and sends the above equivalentexchange request data D30 to a customer ID extracting part 525.

[0608] The data providing server 501 extracts the customer ID from theequivalent exchange request data D30 by the customer ID extracting part525, and transmits this to a customer's update search part 518 with theabove equivalent exchange request data D30.

[0609] Furthermore, the data providing server 501 searches in thecustomer database 510 based on the customer ID by the customer's updatesearch part 518, and based on thus obtained customer registrationinformation, detects the coded name of the customer, the content ID ofthe content data D21 shown for equivalent exchange, the payment methodof the rental charge for the above content data D21, and whether or notthe above rental charge was already paid, as well as whether thecustomer requesting the equivalent exchange did not do any illegality onthe obtaining of the content data D21 in the past, and transmits thedetected result to a judging part 526 with the equivalent exchangerequest data D30.

[0610] The data providing server 501 judges whether to permit thecustomer to perform the equivalent exchange, based on the detectionresult given from the customer's update search part 518 by the judgingpart 526.

[0611] Now, if the customer already paid the rental charge for thecontent data D21 for equivalent exchange and the customer especially didnot do illegality in the past, the data providing server 501 permits thecustomer to perfom the equivalent exchange and stores the data of thecoded name of the customer, the content ID of the content data D21 shownfor the equivalent exchange, the payment method of the rental charge,and the amount that the customer actually paid, detected by thecustomer's update search part 518, in the equivalent exchange requestdata D30, to generates equivalent exchange processing data D31 by thejudging part 526, and transmits this to a value judging part 527.

[0612] The data providing server 501 searches a data table in thepackaged media database 512 according to the search conditionspreviously set via a package search part 528, to detect packaged media(single CD) storing the same content data D21, as packaged media thatthe equivalent exchange of the content data D21 (single tune) that thecustomer owns and showed for equivalent exchange is possible for, andreads the title, the sale price and the package ID of the above detectedpackaged media by the value judging part 527.

[0613] Then, the data providing server 501 compares the rental chargethat the customer paid for the content data D21 (that is, the obtainingprice of the content data D21 which the customer owns) to the sale priceof the found packaged media equivalently exchangeable to computes theirbalance by the value judging part 527. At this time, for instance, ifthe sale price of the packaged media is more expensive than theobtaining price of the content data, the conditions of equivalentexchange that the customer pays their balance are set to almost equalizethe content data D21 that the customer owns with the packaged media inexchange value.

[0614] The data providing server 501 stores the title and the package IDof the packaged media equivalently exchangeable, and the conditions ofthe equivalent exchange (to almost equalize the content data that thecustomer owns with the packaged media in exchange value, on executingthe equivalent exchange, the customer pays the balance between theobtaining price and the sale price) in the equivalent exchange requestdata D31, and generating equivalent exchange condition showing data D32,by the value judging part 527.

[0615] The data providing server 501 sends the equivalent exchangecondition showing data D32 from the sending part 521 to the portablededicated terminal 502 via the Internet 504 to notify the customer ofthe packaged media that the content data D21 can be equivalentlyexchanged for, and notify the customer of that when in equivalentlyexchanging the above content data D21 for the packaged media, thecustomer must pay the shown balance, as the conditions.

[0616] As a result, if exchange approval data representing that thecustomer approves the equivalent exchange is sent from the portablededicated terminal 502, the data providing server 501 receives this bythe receiving part 515, takes this in the received data judging part516, and transmits this from the above received data judging part 516 tothe judging part 526. The data providing server 501 confirms that thecustomer has approved the equivalent exchange based on the exchangeacceptance data by the judging part 526.

[0617] Then, the data providing server 501 generates package deliveryordering information from the package ID of the packaged media for theequivalent exchange to be handed over the customer, the name of thecustomer, his/her address, etc., based on the customer registrationinformation by the judging part 526, and transmits this to the send datagenerating part 520.

[0618] The data providing server 501 generates package delivery orderingdata representing the package delivery ordering information by the senddata generating part 520, and sends this from the sending part 521 tothe package providing server 503 via the Internet 504 to order the abovepackage providing server 503 to deliver the packaged media to thecustomer.

[0619] As a result, if delivery arrangement completion data representingthat the arrangement of the delivery has completed is sent from thepackage providing server 503 via the Internet 504, the data providingserver 501 receives this by the receiving part 515, and transmits thisfrom the received data judging part 516 to the judging part 526.

[0620] At this time, as the payment method of the balance included inthe exchange acceptance data, if the customer specified the payment bycredit, the data providing server 501 performs accounting by theaccounting part similarly to the aforementioned case, and then receivesthe notification of completion of electronic settlement from thesettlement processing server.

[0621] The data providing server 501 transmits the equivalent exchangeapproval information representing the approval for the equivalentexchange and the delivery method of the packaged media by the judgingpart 526, and transmits this to the send data generating part 520. Thedata providing server 501 generates equivalent exchange approval data bythe above send data generating part 520, and sends this from the sendingpart 521 to the portable dedicated terminal 502 via the Internet 504 tonotify the customer that the equivalent exchange was approved.

[0622] If notifying the customer of the approval of the equivalentexchange, the data providing server 501 adds information such as thecontent ID of the content data D21 to be equivalently exchanged, thepackage ID of the packaged media, whether or not the customer paid thebalance, and the balance (amount), to the customer registrationinformation in the customer database 510, updating the customerregistration information, and stors the history of the equivalentexchange, by the judging part 526 via the customer's update search part518.

[0623] In this manner, the content data D21 that the customer owned isdeleted from the portable dedicated terminal 502 (or is made into notreproducible state) for return. And if the packaged media that thecustomer ordered the package providing server 503 its delivery isdelivered to the customer, as shown in FIGS. 41(A) and 41(B), the dataproviding server 501 treats the packaged media storing the content dataD21 that usually should be bought at the sale price as almost equivalentto the content data D21 that the customer owned, and exchanges thecontent data D21 for the packaged media.

[0624] In this connection, when the customer specified payment by cashfor the balance between the obtaining price of the content data and thesale price of the packaged media that arose from the equivalentexchange, the customer uses the bank transfer. And when the customerspecified payment by prepaid card, the customer uses a request terminalor the like.

[0625] When the data providing server 501 receives the equivalentexchange request data D30 from the portable dedicated terminal 502, ifthe customer has not paid the rental charge for the content data D21shown for equivalent exchange, or if the customer did any illegality inthe past, the data providing server 501 sends the send data generatingpart 520 equivalent exchange forbidding information representing theforbidding of the equivalent exchange so as not to forbid the customerthe equivalent exchange, by the judging part 526.

[0626] The data providing server 501 generates equivalent exchangeforbidding data representing that equivalent exchange forbiddinginformation by the send data generating part 520, and sends this fromthe sending part 521 to the portable dedicated terminal 502 via theInternet 504 to notify the customer that the data providing server 501cannot permit the equivalent exchange.

[0627] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 38, if the customer entersspecifying information on the content data to rent with an operatingpart 540, the portable dedicated terminal 502 identifies that the abovespecifying information as information to obtain content data forexample, by the format of that specifying information, and addsequivalent exchange information showing “0” to that specifyinginformation by an operational information judging part 541, andtransmits this to a request data generating part 542.

[0628] The portable dedicated terminal 502 generates content specifyingdata D20 representing that specifying information and including thecustomer ID by the request data generating part 542, and sends this froma sending part 543 to the data providing server 501 via the Internet504.

[0629] As a result, if the content data D21 with header data D23 addedis sent from the data providing server 501, the portable dedicatedterminal 502 receives this by a receiving part 544, and transmits thisfrom a judging part 545 to a recording control part 546. The portablededicated terminal 502 records that content data D21 and header data D23on a storage medium 547 by the above recording control part 546. Thus,the customer rents the desired content data D21.

[0630] Thereafter, if the customer enters a reproduction command withthe operating part 540, the portable dedicated terminal 502 reproducesthe content data D21 from the storage medium 547 by a reproductioncontrol part 548, and supplies the above reproduced content data D21 toa reproducing part 549 composed of a display control part, a displaypart, a speaker, etc, to let the customer enjoy the content such as thesingle tune.

[0631] In this connection, the portable dedicated terminal 502 managesthe rental term of the content data D21 by detecting it from the headerdata D23 by the recording control part 545 and the reproduction controlpart 548. If the customer does not bring the portable-dedicated terminal502 into the agency although the rental term of the above content dataD21 has finished, the portable dedicated terminal 502 deletes thatcontent data D21 from the storage medium 547, or makes into a, statewhere the content data D21 cannot be reproduced by the reproductioncontrol part 548, for return.

[0632] Furthermore, if the customer enters an equivalent exchangerequest that specifies the content data D21 for equivalent exchange withthe operating part 540, the portable dedicated terminal 502 identifiesthat the above equivalent exchange request as a request to equivalentlyexchange the content data D21 that the customer owns for packaged mediaby the format of that equivalent exchange request, and adds equivalentexchange information showing “1” to the above equivalent exchangerequest by the operational information judging part 541, and suppliesthis to the request data generating part 542.

[0633] In this case, the portable dedicated terminal 502 generatesequivalent exchange request data D30 representing that equivalentexchange request and including the customer ID by the request datagenerating part 542, and sends this from the sending part 543 to thedata providing server 501 via the Internet 504.

[0634] As a result, if equivalent exchange condition showing data D32 issent from the data providing server 501 via the Internet 504, theportable dedicated terminal 502 receives this by the receiving part 544,and transmits this from the judging part 545 to the reproducing part 549to notify the customer of the title of packaged media that the contentdata D21 can be equivalently exchanged for, and that the customer mustpay the balance occurred by the equivalent exchange as the conditions ofthe equivalent exchange.

[0635] If the customer approves the equivalent exchange via theoperating part 540, the portable dedicated terminal 502 adds equivalentexchange information representing “1” to that approval information andtransmits them to the request data generating part 542 by theoperational information judging part 541. The portable dedicatedterminal 502 generates exchange approval data representing the aboveapproval and the customer ID by the above request data generating part542, and sends this from the sending part 543 to the data providingserver 501 via the Internet 504.

[0636] If equivalent exchange approval data is sent from the dataproviding server 501 via the Internet 504, the portable dedicatedterminal 502 receives this by the receiving part 544, and transmits thisfrom the judging part 545 to the reproducing part 549 to notify thecustomer that the equivalent exchange was accepted, of the deliverymethod of the packaged media and so on.

[0637] In this connection, if equivalent exchange forbidding data issent from the data providing server 501 via the Internet 504, theportable dedicated terminal 502 receives this by the receiving part 544,and transmits this from the judging part 545 to the reproducing part 549to notify the customer that the equivalent exchange was not permitted.

[0638] If package delivery ordering data is sent from the data providingserver 501 via the Internet 504, the package providing server 503receives this by a receiving part 560, transmits this to a package IDextracting part 561, extracts the package ID from the package deliveryordering data by the above package ID extracting part 561, and suppliesthis to a package search part 562 with the above package deliveryordering data.

[0639] Then, the package providing server 503 searches a stockmanagement database 563 based on the package ID to detect the stock ofthe packaged media specified by the data providing server 501 and thestorage position on a package shelf not shown by the package search part562, and transmits information on the above detected storage position toa package taking-out control part 564 with the package delivery orderingdata.

[0640] After taking the specified packaged media out of the packagedmedia keeping shelf based on information on the storage position by thepackage taking-out control part 564, the package providing server 503packs that extracted packaged media and instructs a delivery center, notshown, to deliver this to the address of the customer shown in thepackage delivery ordering data by a shipment/packing instructing part565, and then, sends delivery arrangement completion data from a sendingpart 566 to the data providing server 501 via the Internet 504.

[0641] In this manner, as shown in FIG. 42, in the data providing system500, if the equivalent exchange is approved between the customer and thedata providing server 501, the package providing server 503 delivers thepackaged media, which the content data is equivalently exchanged for, tothe customer.

[0642] Here, an equivalent exchange processing procedure by the dataproviding server 501, the portable dedicated terminal 502 and thepackage providing server 503 in the data providing system 500 will becollectively described. As shown in FIGS. 43(A) and 44(A), first, theportable dedicated terminal 502 enters routine RT30 from the startingstep, and proceeds to step SP351.

[0643] In step SP351, the portable dedicated terminal 502 waits for thecustomer to enter specifying information to rent the content data D21with the operating part 540. When the above specifying information isentered, the portable dedicated terminal 502 proceeds to step SP352 tothe generate content specifying data D20 by the request data generatingpart 542, and transmits this from the sending part 543 to the dataproviding server 501, and then proceeds to step SP353.

[0644] At this time, as shown in FIGS. 43(B) and 44(B), the dataproviding server 501 enters routine RT31 from the starting step, andproceeds to step SP371. In the above step SF371, the data providingserver 501 waits for the content specifying data to be sent from theportable dedicated terminal 502. When the data providing server 501receives the content specifying data from the receiving part 515, thedata providing server 501 proceeds to step SP372.

[0645] In step SP372, the data providing server 501 reads the specifiedcontent data D21 from the content database 511 by the content searchpart 519, and sends this from the sending part 521 to the portablededicated terminal 502, and then proceeds to step SP373.

[0646] Now, in step SP353, the portable dedicated terminal 502 waits forthe content data D21 to be sent from the data providing server 501. Whenthe portable dedicated terminal 502 receives the content data D21 by thereceiving part 544, the portable dedicated terminal 502 proceeds to stepSP354 to record that content data D21 on the storage medium 547 by therecording control part 546, and proceeds to step SP355.

[0647] Thereby, the portable dedicated terminal 501 rents the contentdata D21 specified by the customer, and reproduces the content data D21in response to customer's request, so as to make the customer enjoy.

[0648] In step SP355, the portable dedicated terminal 502 waits for thecustomer to enter an equivalent exchange request with the operating part540. Until the equivalent exchange request is entered, the portablededicated terminal 502 returns to step SP351, and repeats the processingloop of the following steps SP352-SP353-SP354-SP355.

[0649] In step SP355, when the customer enters the equivalent exchangerequest with the operating part 540, the portable dedicated terminal 502proceeds to step SP356 to generate the equivalent exchange request dataD30 by the request data generating part 542, and sends this from thesending part 543 to the data providing server 501, and then proceeds tostep SP357.

[0650] In step SP373, the data providing server 501 determines whetheror not the equivalent exchange request data D30 was sent from theportable dedicated terminal 502. Until receiving the above equivalentexchange request data D30, the data providing server 501 returns to stepSP371 and repeats the processing loop of the following steps SP372 andSP373. In step SP373, when the data providing server 501 receives theequivalent exchange request data D30 from the portable dedicatedterminal 502 by the receiving part 515, the data providing server 501proceeds to step SP374.

[0651] In step SP374, the data providing server 501 checks thecustomer's usage history based on the customer registration informationon the customer who requested the equivalent exchange and judgingwhether to permit the equivalent exchange, by the judging part 526.

[0652] Obtaining a negative result in this step SP374 means that therental charge of the content data D21 that the customer showed forequivalent exchange has not been paid yet or that the above customermight illegally use the equivalent exchange because he/she did anyillegality in the past. At this time, the data providing server 501proceeds to step SP375 to send the equivalent exchange forbiddinginformation generated by the judging part 526 as equivalent exchangeforbidding data, from the sending part 521 to the portable dedicatedterminal 502 by the send data generating part 520. Then, the dataproviding server 501 proceeds to step SP376 to finish the aboveprocessing by the data providing server 501.

[0653] On the contrary, obtaining an affirmative result in step SP374means that the customer will not illegally use the equivalent exchangebecause he/she already paid the rental charge for the content data D21that the customer showed for equivalent exchange and he/she has not beendone illegality in the past. At this time, the data providing server 501proceeds to step SP377.

[0654] In step SP377, the data providing server 501 generates equivalentexchange condition showing data D32 representing the conditions toalmost equalize the content data D21 that the customer owns with thepackaged media equivalently exchangeable, in exchange value, by thevalue judging part 527, and sends this from the sending part 521 to theportable dedicated terminal 502, and then proceeds to step SP378.

[0655] At this time, in step SP375, the portable dedicated terminal 502waits for the equivalent exchange condition showing data D32 or theequivalent exchange forbidding data to be sent from the data providingserver 501. When the portable dedicated terminal 502 receives eitherdata by the receiving part 544, the portable dedicated terminal 502proceeds to step SP358.

[0656] In step SP358, the portable dedicated terminal 502 determineswhether or not the data received by the receiving part 554 is theequivalent exchange condition showing data D32, by the judging part 545.When the above received data is equivalent exchange forbidding data, theportable dedicated terminal 502 makes a notice of what the equivalentexchange was not permitted, via the reproducing part 549 and then itproceeds to step SP359 to finish the processing by the above dataproviding server 501.

[0657] In step SP358, when the received data is the equivalent exchangecondition showing data D32, the portable dedicated terminal 502 makes anotice of the permission of the equivalent exchange and the conditionsof the equivalent exchange, via the reproducing part 549, and then itproceeds to step SP360 to send exchange approval data from the sendingpart 543 to the data providing server 501 according to the operations ofthe operating part 540 by the customer, and proceeds to step SP361.

[0658] In step SP378, the data providing server 501 waits for theexchange approval data to be sent from the portable dedicated terminal502. When the data providing server 501 receives the above exchangeapproval data by the receiving part 515, the data providing server 501proceeds to step SP379 to generate package delivery ordering data todeliver the packaged media to the customer by the judging part 526, andsends this from the sending part 521 to the package providing server503, and then proceeds to step SP380.

[0659] At this time, as shown in FIGS. 43(C) and 44(C), the packageproviding server 503 enters routine RT32 from the starting step, andproceeds to step SP391. In the above step SP391, the package providingserver 503 waits for the package delivery ordering data to be sent fromthe data providing server 501. When the package providing server 503receives the package delivery ordering data by the receiving part 560,the package providing server 503 proceeds to step SP392.

[0660] In step SP392, the package providing server 503 confirms thestorage position of the specified packaged media on the package storageshelf based on the package delivery ordering data by the package searchpart 562, and proceeds to step SP393 to take the specified packagedmedia out of the package storage shelf by the package taking-out controlpart 564, and then proceeds to step SP394.

[0661] In step SP394, the package providing server 503 instructs thedelivery center to pack and deliver the packaged media to the customerby the shipment/packing instructing part 565, and proceeds to step SP395to send delivery arrangement completion data from the sending part 566to the data providing server 501. Then, the package providing server 503proceeds to step SP396 to finish the above processing by the packageproviding server 503.

[0662] At this time, in step SP380, the data providing server 501 waitsfor the delivery arrangement completion data to be sent from the packageproviding server 503. When the data providing server 501 receives thedelivery arrangement completion data by the receiving part 515, the dataproviding server 501 proceeds to step SP381 to generate equivalentexchange approval data by the judging part 526 and send this from thesending part 521 to the portable dedicated terminal 502. Then, the dataproviding server 501 proceeds to step SP376 to finish the aboveprocessing by the data providing server 501.

[0663] On the other hand, instep SP361, the portable dedicated terminal502 waits for the equivalent exchange approval data to be sent from thedata providing server 501. When the portable dedicated terminal 502receives the equivalent exchange approval data by the receiving part544, the portable dedicated terminal 502 notifies the customer that theequivalent exchange was approved via the reproducing part 549. Then, theportable dedicated terminal 502 proceeds to step SP359 to finish theabove processing by the portable dedicated terminal 502. Thus, all theequivalent exchange processing procedures in the data providing system500 is finished.

[0664] According to the above configuration, in this data providingsystem 500, when content specifying data that requests the rental ofcontent data D21 is sent from the portable dedicated terminal 502, thedata providing server 501 sends the specified content data D21 to theportable dedicated terminal 502 responding to this for recording. Inthis manner, the content data D21 is rented to the customer with theabove portable dedicated terminal 502.

[0665] In this data providing system 500, if equivalent exchange requestdata D30 for the content data D21 (single tune) that the customer ownsby rental is sent from the portable dedicated terminal 502, the dataproviding server 501 detects packaged media (single CD) storing the samecontent data D21 that can be equivalently exchanged for the content dataD21 by the above data providing server 501, and almost equalizes theabove detected packaged media with the content data D21 that thecustomer owns in exchange value, to compute the balance between theobtaining price of the content data that the customer owns and the saleprice of the packaged media.

[0666] In this manner, in the data providing system 500, the dataproviding server 501 sends equivalent exchange condition showing dataD32 to the portable dedicated terminal 502 to show the title of thepackaged media that the content data D21 shown by the customer can beequivalently exchanged for, and the balance that the customer should payfor the above equivalent exchange as the conditions of the equivalentexchange.

[0667] As a result, in the data providing system 500, if equivalentexchange approval data that approves the equivalent exchange is sentfrom the portable dedicated terminal 502, the data providing server 501makes the customer pay the balance occurred by the equivalent exchange,and deletes the content data D21 that the customer owned from theportable dedicated terminal 502 for return, and delivers the packagedmedia to the above customer. Thus, the content data D21 that thecustomer owns and the packaged media storing the content data D21 arealmost equalized in exchange value, and the content data D21 isexchanged for that packaged media.

[0668] Accordingly, in this data providing system 500, when the customerwho rented the content data D21 with the portable dedicated terminal 502wants to enjoy that content data D21 by reproducing with another device,or when the customer became anxious about the safekeeping of the contentdata D21 by the portable dedicated terminal 502 and wanted thesafekeeping by packaged media, the above content data D21 and thepackaged media are almost equalized in exchange value, and the contentdata D21 can be provided to the customer at a minimum investment byexchanging the content data D21 for the packaged media.

[0669] As a result, in this data providing system 500, the customer canremarkably easily obtain the content data D21 distributed via theInternet.

[0670] In this data providing system 500, such equivalent exchangebetween the content data D21 and the packaged media is executed. Thus,the customer can remarkably easily use that system.

[0671] Furthermore, in this data providing system 500, only the customerwho uses the portable dedicated terminal 502 only accessible to the dataproviding server 501 can use the equivalent exchange. Thereby, it can bealmost prevented that the above customer illegally uses the equivalentexchange with content data that was obtained from a server other thanthe data providing server 501 at a different price from the offer priceby the data providing server 501, or that the customer illegally usesthe equivalent exchange with content data that was downloaded frompackaged media.

[0672] According to the above configuration, the data providing server501 sends the content data D21 that was specified according to therental request from the portable dedicated terminal 502 that thecustomer uses to the portable dedicated terminal 502 for recording andrental. Then, if exchange of the rented content data D21 for packagedmedia is requested from the portable dedicated terminal 502, the dataproviding server 501 detects packaged media that the above content dataD21 can be exchanged for, and shows the conditions to almost equalizethe packaged media and the content data D21 that the customer owns inexchange value. Thereby, even if the customer obtained the content dataD21 by distribution, the customer can exchange the content data D21 forthe packaged media by a minimum investment. Thereby, the customer canremarkably easily obtain the content data D21 distributed via theInternet 504. Thus, a data providing system that can popularize thedistribution of content data can be accomplished.

[0673] Note that, in the aforementioned seventh embodiment, the contentdata D21 that the customer rented is equivalently exchanged for packagedmedia from the data providing server 501. This invention, however, isnot limited to this and content data, that the customer bought may beequivalently exchanged for, packaged media from the data providingserver 501.

[0674] In this connection, in the aforementioned seventh embodiment,since the rented content data D21 is equivalently exchanged for thepackaged media, the above content data D21 is deleted for return whenthe rental term passed. However, when content data that the customerbought is equivalently exchanged for packaged media storing the samecontent data, the above customer does not illegally own differentcontent data. Therefore, the content data equivalently exchanged for thepackaged media may be deleted, or the customer may hold that as it is.

[0675] In the aforementioned seventh embodiment, the packaged media,which the content data D21 owned by the customer is to be equivalentlyexchanged for, is delivered to the customer by the package providingserver 503. This invention, however, is not limited to this and thepackaged media, which the content data D21 owned by the customer is tobe equivalently exchanged for, may be directly handed to the customer atthe agency when the customer returns the content data D21.

[0676] Furthermore, in the aforementioned seventh embodiment, thecontent data D21 being a single tune that the customer owns isequivalently exchanged for the packaged media being a single CD. Thisinvention, however, is not limited to this and the content data D21being a single tune that the customer owns may be equivalently exchangedfor packaged media being an album CD.

[0677] In the aforementioned seventh embodiment, the content data andthe packaged media to be equivalently exchanged are both music data (asingle tune and a single CD). This invention, however, is not limited tothis and, as content data and packaged media to be equivalentlyexchanged, other various content such as movie, book, etc., can beadopted. Thereby, the convenience and the versatility of a dataproviding system can be remarkably improved, and the distribution ofcontent data can be further popularized.

[0678] Further, in the aforementioned seventh embodiment, the portablededicated terminal 502 notifies the data providing server 501 of thetitle as identification information on the content data D21 to beequivalently exchanged, and the data providing server 501 notifies theportable dedicated terminal 502 of the title as identificationinformation on the packaged media which the content data 21 isequivalently exchangeable for. This invention is not limited to this andthe portable dedicated terminal 502 may notify the data providing server501 of the content ID as identification information on the content dataD21 to be equivalently exchanged and the data providing server 501 maynotify the portable dedicated terminal 502 of the package ID asidentification information on packaged media which the content data D21is equivalently exchangeable for.

[0679] In the aforementioned seventh embodiment, the customer pays thebalance by money to almost equalize the content data D21 that thecustomer owns with the packaged media in exchange value, by theequivalent exchange. This invention, however, is not limited to this andthe data providing server 501 may issue points to give a privilege suchas a discount to the customer according to the rental and the purchaseof the content data D21, and the customer may accumulate and use thepoints for the payment of the balance to almost equalize the contentdata D21 that the customer owns with the packaged media in exchangevalue, by the equivalent exchange, instead of a part of or all of themoney.

[0680] In the aforementioned seventh embodiment, the customer rents thecontent data D21 from the data providing server 501 with the portablededicated terminal 502 accessible only to the above data providingserver 501, and equivalently exchanges the renting content data D21 forpackaged media. This invention, however, is not limited to this and, thecustomer may buy or rent content data from the data providing server 501with other various kinds of devices and then may equivalently exchangecontent data that the customer bought or rented for packaged media,provided that the devices are devices connectable to the Internet 504such as a personal computer and a portable telephone.

[0681] In this connection, in the case of using the data providingserver 501 with another device different from the portable dedicatedterminal 502, like a personal computer, a portable telephone, etc.,server identifying information to identify the data providing server 501being the provider of content data is added to the content data thatwill be bought or rented from the data providing server 501 with theabove device. If equivalent exchange is requested, when the dataproviding server 501 judges whether to permit the equivalent exchange tothe customer, the data providing server 501 determines whether thecontent data shown for equivalent exchange was provided from the dataproviding server 501 by the server identifying information. If thecustomer shows content data that was obtained from another dataproviding server for equivalent exchange, the data providing server 501forbids the equivalent exchange, which can prevent that the dataproviding server 501 suffers losses by performing the equivalentexchange of the content data provided by the other data providingserver.

[0682] Furthermore, when the customer equivalently exchanges contentdata rented with a device different from the portable dedicated terminal502 for packaged media, the data providing server 501 deletes thecontent data to be equivalently exchanged that has been recorded in thedevice, at the time of receiving exchange approval data from the abovedevice, and on the confirmation of that, approves the equivalentexchange of the above content data for the packaged media. Thereby, itcan be prevented that the customer illegally performs equivalentexchange by using again the content data for rental that wasequivalently exchanged once by the device different from the portablededicated terminal 502.

(9) EIGHT EMBODIMENT

[0683]FIG. 45 in which the same reference numerals are added tocorresponding parts in FIG. 38 shows a data providing system 600according to an eighth embodiment. The data providing system 600 isconstructed similarly to the aforementioned data providing system 500according to the seventh embodiment, except for the Constructions of thedata providing server 601 and the portable dedicated terminal 602accessible only to the above data providing server 601.

[0684] In this case, when the data providing server 601 receives contentspecifying data from the portable dedicated terminal 602 by thereceiving part 515, the data providing server 601 performs processingsimilarly to the data providing server 501 according to the seventhembodiment described above with reference to FIGS. 38 and 39, and sendscontent data D21 with header data D23 added from the sending part 521 tothe portable dedicated terminal 602 via the Internet 504. Thus, thespecified content data D21 is rented to the customer.

[0685] In this connection, when the rental term of the content data D21expired, if the customer brings the portable dedicated terminal 602 intoan agency, the rented content data D21 is deleted for return. If thecustomer does not bring the portable dedicated terminal 602 into theagency although the above rental term expired, that content data D21 isdeleted or made not to be reproducible from the portable dedicatedterminal 602 for return.

[0686] By the way, in the data providing server 601, the customer canequivalently exchange one or plural content data D21 being a singletune, owned by the customer, for packaged media being a single CD or analbum CD.

[0687] Specifically, if the customer sends equivalent exchange requestdata to request the equivalently exchange of, for example, a pluralityof content data D21 (single tune) owned by rental for packaged media(album CD) from the portable dedicated terminal 602, the data providingserver 601 receives this by the receiving part 515, and takes this inthe received data judging part 516.

[0688] Now, as shown in FIGS. 45 and 46, in the equivalent exchangerequest data D40 sent from the portable dedicated terminal 602,equivalent exchange information representing customer's name, customerID, password, the titles of the plural content data D21 that thecustomer showed for equivalent exchange, and whether or not equivalentexchange was performed (“1” is shown as contents) has been stored.

[0689] The data providing server 601 transmits the equivalent exchangerequest data D40 to a judging part 610 sequentially via the customer IDextracting part 525 and the customer's update search part 518 by thereceived data judging part 516.

[0690] The data providing server 601 judges whether to permit thecustomer the equivalent exchange similarly to the case described abovewith reference to FIGS. 38 and 40 by the judging part 610. When the dataproviding server 601 permitted the above customer the equivalentexchange, the data providing server 601 stores information about codedcustomer's name, the content ID of the content data D21 that thecustomer showed for equivalent exchange, the payment method of rentalcharge, and the amount that the customer actually paid in the equivalentexchange request data D40, and generates equivalent exchange processingdata D41, and transmits this to a value judging part 611.

[0691] Now, as shown in FIGS. 47(A) to 47(C), a packaged media database612 provided in the data providing server 601 previously stores acontent data table 620 for content data D21, a single data table 621 forpackaged media for packaged media being a single CD, and an album datatable 622 for packaged media being an album CD.

[0692] In this case, the content data table 620 is formed by makingcorrespondence between the title of the content data D21 that the dataproviding server 601 sells or rents and the content ID, as well asmaking correspondence for example, among points which are allocatedaccording to the ranking of the year (hereinafter, this is referred toas ranking points) in such a manner that if the content data D21 is atune that got the first rank in the ranking of the year, since there arecomparatively many transmission requests, 10 points are allocated tothat, and if the content data D21 is a tune at the lowest rank, sincethere are comparatively few transmission requests, 1 point is allocated,points which are allocated according to released date (hereinafter, thisis referred to as date points) in such a way that if the content dataD21 was released at first recently, since there are comparatively manytransmission requests, 10 points are allocated, and if the content dataD21 is a tune quite old, since there are comparatively few transmissionrequests, 1 point is allocated, total points obtained by totaling upthese ranking points and date points, and the content data D21, with theranking points, date points and total points as market value.

[0693] The single data table 621 is formed by making correspondenceamong the title of packaged media being a single CD, package ID, marketvalue composed of ranking points and date points, and sale price. Andthe album data table 621 is formed by making correspondence among thetitle of packaged media being an album CD, package ID, market valuecomposed of ranking points and date points, and sale price.

[0694] The data providing server 601 searches the content database 620in the packaged media database 612 according to search conditionspreviously set via the package search part 528, to read out and add allof the total points respectively allocated to the plural content dataD21 (single tunes) that the customer showed for equivalent exchange, andto compute the total points of these plural content data D21(hereinafter, this is referred to as total points) by the value judgingpart 611.

[0695] The data providing server 601 searches the album database 622 inthe packaged media database 612 based on the total points computed bythe value judging part 611 via the package search part 528, to detectone or plural packaged media being an album CD having the same totalpoints as the above total points, for equivalently exchanged, and readsthe title, the package ID and the sale price of the above detectedpackaged media.

[0696] In this manner, if the data providing server 601 detects one orplural packaged media that the customer can equivalently exchange theplural content data D21 shown by the customer for, the data providingserver 601 compares the sale price of the above packaged media with therental charges that the customer paid for all of these plural contentdata D21 that the customer paid, and computes the balance, in order toalmost equalize the above detected packaged media with the pluralcontent data D21 that the customer showed by the value judging part 611,in exchange value.

[0697] Then, the data providing server 601 generates equivalent exchangecondition showing data D42 by storing the title and the package ID ofthe one or plural packaged media exchangeable, the conditions ofequivalent exchange set indicating that a customer pays a balance toalmost equalize content data owned by the customer with packaged mediain exchange value for equivalent exchange, the data providing server 601pays a balance to a customer, or equivalent exchange is carried out evena balance is not paid because the sale price and rental price are thesame.

[0698] Then, the data providing server 601 sends the equivalent exchangecondition showing data D42 from the sending part 521 to the portablededicated terminal 602 via the Internet 504, to notify the customer of,as shown in FIGS. 48(A) to 48(C), one or plural packaged media that thecustomer can equivalently exchange the plural content data D21 for, aswell as the conditions of equivalent exchange of the above content dataD21 for the packaged media.

[0699] As a result, if the customer sends exchange approval datarepresenting the approval of the equivalent exchange and when there areplural proposed packaged media equivalently exchangeable, packaged mediathat the customer selected from among these packaged media from theportable dedicated terminal 602, the data providing server 601 receivesthis by the receiving part 515, and transmits this from the receiveddata judging part 516 to the judging part 610. The data providing server601 confirms that the customer approved the equivalent exchange based onthe exchange approval data as well as the packaged media selected forthe equivalent exchange by the above judging part 610.

[0700] Then, the data providing server 601 generates package deliveryordering information with the package ID of the packaged media that thecustomer selected for equivalent exchange by the judging part 610, andtransmits this to the send data generating part 520, generates packagedelivery ordering data by the above send data generating part 520, andtransmits this from the sending part 521 to the package providing server503 via the Internet 504.

[0701] Thereafter, the data providing server 601 performs processingsimilarly to the data providing server 501 according to the seventhembodiment described above with reference to FIG. 38, so as toequivalently exchange the plural content data D21 that the customer ownsfor one packaged media being an album CD by equalizing them in exchangevalue.

[0702] On the other hand, in the portable dedicated terminal 602 shownin FIG. 45, if the customer enters specifying information on contentdata that the customer wants to rent with the operating part 540, theportable dedicated terminal 602 executes the similar processing to theportable dedicated terminal 502 according to the seventh embodimentdescribed above with reference to FIG. 38, and the content data D21 isrented to the customer from the data providing server 601.

[0703] Furthermore, if the customer enters an equivalent exchangerequest that specifies plural content data D21 for equivalent exchange,with the operating part 540, the portable dedicated terminal 602generates the equivalent exchange request data D40 described above withreference to FIG. 46 by a request data generating part 630, and sendsthis from the sending part 543 to the data providing server 601 via theInternet 504.

[0704] As a result, when equivalent exchange condition showing data D42is sent from the data providing server 601 via the Internet 504, theportable dedicated terminal 602 receives this by the receiving part 544,and transmits this from the judging part 545 to the reproducing part549, to notify the customer of the title of one or plural packaged mediathat the content data D21 can be equivalently exchanged for, and theconditions to execute the equivalent exchange for each of these packagedmedia (payment or taking of balance, or no occurrence of balance).

[0705] If the customer sends the approval of the equivalent exchange andinformation showing the packaged media that the customer selected forthe equivalent exchange from among the plural packaged media, with theoperating part 540, the portable dedicated terminal 602 generatesexchange approval data representing the above approval and selectedpackaged media by the request data generating part 630, and sends thisfrom the sending part 543 to the data providing server 601 via theInternet 504.

[0706] Thereafter, when equivalent exchange approval data is sent fromthe data providing server 601 via the Internet 504, the portablededicated terminal 602 receives this by the receiving part 544, andtransmits this from the judging part 545 to the reproducing part 549 tonotify the customer of the approval of the equivalent exchange, thedelivery method of the packaged media and the like.

[0707] In this connection, if equivalent exchange forbidding data issent from the data providing server 601 via the Internet 504, theportable dedicated terminal 602 receives this by the receiving part 544and transmits this from the judging part 545 to the reproducing part549, to notify the customer that the equivalent exchange was notpermitted.

[0708] Now, an equivalent exchanging processing procedure by the dataproviding server 601, the portable dedicated terminal 602 and thepackage providing server 503 in the data providing system 600 will becollectively described. As shown in FIGS. 49(A) and 50(A) in that thesame reference numerals are added to corresponding part in FIGS. 43(A)and 44(A), first, the portable dedicated terminal 602 enters routineRT35 from the starting step, proceeds to step SP351 and sequentiallyexecutes the processing of the above step SP351 to step SP354, andproceeds to step SP401.

[0709] In step SP401, the portable dedicated terminal 602 waits for thecustomer to enter an equivalent exchange request specifying pluralcontent data D21 for equivalent exchange with the operating part 540.Until the above equivalent exchange request is entered, the portablededicated terminal 602 returns to step, SP351 and repeats the processingloop of the following steps SP352-SP353-SP354-SP401.

[0710] In step SP401, when the equivalent exchange request is enteredvia the operating part 540, the portable dedicated terminal 602 proceedsto step SP402 to generate equivalent exchange request data D40 by therequest data generating part 630 and transmit this from the sending part543 to the data providing server 601, and then proceeds to step SP357.

[0711] On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 49(B) and 50(B) in that thesame reference numerals are added to corresponding parts in FIGS. 43(B)and 44(B), the data providing server 601 enters routine RT36 from thestarting step, proceeds to step SP371, and sequentially executes theprocessing of the above steps SP371 to SP375. In step SP374, when thedata providing server 601 permits the customer the equivalent exchange,the data providing server 601 proceeds to step SP411.

[0712] In step SP411, the data providing server 601 detects one orplural packaged media having the same total points as the plural contentdata D21 that the customer owns, generates equivalent exchange conditionshowing data D42 representing the conditions to almost equalize theabove detected packaged media with plural content data D21 in exchangevalue, by the value judging part 611, and transmits this from thesending part 521 to,the portable dedicated terminal 602, and thenproceeds to step SP412.

[0713] At this time, in step SP375, the portable dedicated terminal 602waits for equivalent exchange condition showing data D32 or equivalentexchange forbidding data to be sent from the data providing server 601.When the portable dedicated terminal 602 receives either data by thereceiving part 544, the portable dedicated terminal 602 proceeds to stepSP358. If the above received data is the equivalent exchange conditionshowing data D42, the portable dedicated terminal 602 proceeds to stepSP403.

[0714] In step SP403, the portable dedicated terminal 602 generatesexchange approval data representing the approval of the equivalentexchange and packaged media that the customer selected for theequivalent exchange from among the plural packaged media according tothe operations of the operating part 540 by the customer by the requestdata generating part 630, transmits the above generated exchangeapproval data from the sending part 543 to the data providing server601, and proceeds to step SP361. Thereafter, when the portable dedicatedterminal 602 receives equivalent exchange approval data by the receivingpart 544, the portable dedicated terminal 602 proceeds to step SP404 tofinish the above processing by the portable dedicated terminal 602.

[0715] Furthermore, in step SP412, the data providing server 601 waitsfor the exchange approval data to be sent from the portable dedicatedterminal 602. When the data providing server 601 receiving the aboveexchange approval data by the receiving part 515, the data providingserver 601 sequentially executes the processing of the following stepsSP379 to SP381, and then proceeds to step SP413 to finish the aboveprocessing by the data providing server 601. Thus, all the equivalentexchange processing procedure by the data providing system 600 isfinished.

[0716] According to the above configuration, in this data providingsystem 600, if content specifying data to request the rental of thecontent data D21 is sent from the portable dedicated terminal 602 to thedata providing server 601, the data providing server 601 sends thespecified content data D21 to the portable dedicated terminal 602 torecord it therein accordingly. Thus, the customer can rent the contentdata D21 with the portable dedicated terminal 602.

[0717] Then, in this data providing system 600, if equivalent exchangerequest data D40 to request the equivalent exchange of the pluralcontent data D21 (single tunes) that the customer owns by rental for onepackaged media (album CD) is sent from the portable dedicated terminal602 to the data providing server 601, the above data providing server601 detects the total points of these plural content data D21, detectsthe packaged media (album CD) having the same total points as the abovedetected total points as a package media equivalently exchangeable, andsends equivalent exchange condition showing data D42 showing theconditions to almost equalize the above detected packaged media with theplural content data D21 that the customer owns, in exchange value, tothe portable dedicated terminal 602.

[0718] As a result, in the data providing system 600, if equivalentexchange approval data showing the approval of the equivalent exchangeand packaged media that the customer selected for equivalent exchange issent from the portable dedicated terminal 602 to the data providingserver 601, the balance in the equivalent exchange is settled, theplural content data D21 that the customer owned are deleted from theportable dedicated terminal 602 for return, and the packaged media isdelivered to the above customer. In this manner, the content data D21that the customer owns and the packaged media being an album CD arealmost equalized in exchange value, and the content data D21 isexchanged for that packaged media.

[0719] Accordingly, in this data providing system 600, when the dataserver 601 searches for packaged media equivalently exchangeable, itmatches the total points of the plural content data D21 with the totalpoints of the packaged media. Therefore, the plural content data D21that the customer owns can be equivalently exchanged for the packagedmedia being an album CD storing content data the same as or differentfrom them.

[0720] Then, in this data providing system 600, by performing suchmatching by points by the data providing server 601, for instance,plural content data D21 can be equivalently exchanged for packaged mediabeing one single CD, or even one content data D21 can be equivalentlyexchanged for packaged media being an album CD. Thus, the convenience ofequivalent exchange can be remarkably improved.

[0721] As a result, in this data providing system 600, customers canfurther remarkably and easily use the system. If the number of the usersof the present system increased by this, the distribution of contentdata D21 using the Internet can be further popularized.

[0722] According to the above configuration, the data providing server601 sends the content data D21 specified according to the rental requestfrom the portable dedicated terminal 602 that the customer uses to theabove portable dedicated terminal 602 to record it therein for rental.Thereafter, if the customer requests to equivalently exchange the rentedcontent data D21 for packaged media from the portable dedicated terminal602, the data providing server 601 detects the packaged media that theabove content data D21 can be exchanged for by matching points for theabove content data D21 that was selected according to the market valuewith points for the packaged media that was selected according to themarket value, and shows the conditions to almost equalize the abovedetected packaged media with the content data D21 that the customer ownsin exchange value. Thereby, in addition to the effects obtained by theaforementioned seventh embodiment, the convenience equivalent exchangecan be remarkably improved. Thus, a data providing system that canfurther popularize the distribution of content data via the Internet canbe accomplished.

[0723] Note that, in the aforementioned eighth embodiment, points arerespectively allocated to the content data, the packaged media being asingle CD and the packaged media being an album CD according to theranking of the year and the date that the media were released for thefirst time. This invention, however, is not limited to this and, inaddition to the ranking of the year and the date that the media werereleased for the first time, 1 point may be allocated to media that hasbeen comparatively sold a lot because its scarcity value is relativelylow, and 10 points may be allocated to media that has not been almostsold because its scarcity value is relatively high. Furthermore, pointsmay be allocated according to one or a combination of the ranking of theyear, the date that the media were released for the first time, and thesales.

[0724] In the aforementioned eighth embodiment, the content data D21that the customer rents is equivalently exchanged for the packaged mediafrom the data providing server 601. This invention, however, is notlimited to this and content data that the customer bought may beequivalently exchanged for packaged media from the data providing server601.

[0725] In this connection, in the aforementioned eighth embodiment,since the rented content data D21 is equivalently exchanged for thepackaged media, the above content data D21 is deleted for return whenthe rental term expires. However, when the customer equivalentlyexchanges the content data that the customer bought for packaged mediastoring the same content data as that, since the above customer does notillegally own different content data, the content data equivalentlyexchanged for the packaged media may be deleted or may be kept by thecustomer as it is.

[0726] In the aforementioned embodiment, the packaged media that thecontent data D21 owned by the customer is equivalently exchanged for isdelivered to the customer by the package providing server 503. Thisinvention, however, is not limited to this and the packaged media thatthe content data D21 owned by the customer is equivalently exchanged formay be directly handed to the customer at the agency.

[0727] Further, in the aforementioned eighth embodiment, the portablededicated terminal 602 notifies the data providing server 601 of thetitle as identification information on the content data D21 to beequivalently exchanged and the data providing server 601 notifies theportable dedicated terminal 602 of the title as identificationinformation on packaged media which the content data D21 is equivalentlyexchanged for. This invention, however, is not limited to this and theportable dedicated terminal 602 may notify the data providing server 601of the content ID as identification information on the content data D21to be equivalently exchanged and the data providing server 601 maynotify the portable dedicated terminal 602 of the package ID asidentification information on the packaged media which the content dataD21 can be equivalently exchanged for.

[0728] Furthermore, in the aforementioned eighth embodiment, theportable dedicated terminal 602 notifies the data providing server 601of only the tile of the content data D21 to be equivalently exchanged.This invention, however, is not limited to this and the portablededicated terminal 602 may notify the data providing server 601 ofinformation indicating the amount of additional fee arbitrary selectedby the customer, together with the identification information on thecontent data D21 to be equivalently exchanged, and then perform theequivalent exchange processing. By this method, the content data D21 canbe exchanged for packaged media within the budget desired by thecustomer.

[0729] In the aforementioned eighth embodiment, the content data and thepackage data equivalently exchanged are musical data (single tune andsingle CD). This invention, however, is not limited to this and ascontent data and packaged media to be equivalently exchanged, othervarious kinds of content such as movie and book can be applied. Thereby,the convenience and the versatility of a data providing system can beremarkably improved, and the distribution of content data can be furtherpopularized.

[0730] In the aforementioned eighth embodiment, the balance that is toalmost equalize the content data D21 that the customer owns with thepackaged media in exchange value for equivalent exchange is settled bymoney. This invention, however, is not limited to this and points togive the customer a privilege such as a discount according to the rentaland the purchase of the content data D21 may be issued and stored by thedata providing server 601, and the difference in exchange value betweenthe content data D21 that the above customer owns and the packaged mediafor equivalent exchange may be settled by the points that the customerobtains, instead of a part of or all of payment.

[0731] Furthermore, in the aforementioned eighth embodiment, the rentalof the content data D21 is performed from the data providing server 601with the portable dedicated terminal 602 that is accessible only to theabove data providing server 601, and the above rented content data D21is equivalently exchanged for packaged media. This invention, however,is not limited to, this and, content data may be bought or rented fromthe data providing server 601 with other various kinds of devices andthe above bought or rented content data may be equivalently exchangedfor packaged media, provided that the devices are device connectable tothe Internet 504 such as a personal computer and a portable telephone.

[0732] In this connection, when the data providing server 601 is usedwith another device such as a personal computer or a portable telephone,different from the portable dedicated terminal 602, serveridentification information to identify the data providing server 601being the provider of the above content data is previously added tocontent data to be bought or rented from the data providing server 601with the above device. And when the customer requests equivalentexchange and then it is judged whether to permit the customer theequivalently exchange, it is judged whether the content data shown bythe customer for equivalent exchange was provided from the dataproviding server 601 based on the server identification information ifthe customer showed the content data obtained from another dataproviding server for equivalent exchange, the equivalent exchange is notpermitted. Thereby, it can be prevented that the data providing serversuffers losses by performing the equivalent exchange of content dataprovided by another data providing server.

[0733] Furthermore, when the customer equivalently exchanges contentdata that the customer rented by a device different from the portablededicated terminal 602 for packaged media, the portable dedicatedterminal 602 deletes the content data to be equivalently exchanged thathas been recorded in that device at the time point when the portablededicated terminal 602 received exchange approval data from the abovedevice, and approves the equivalent exchange of the above content datafor the packaged media upon that confirmation has got. Thereby, that thecustomer performs illegal equivalent exchange by using again the contentdata for rental that was equivalently exchanged once by a devicedifferent from the portable dedicated terminal 602 can be prevented.

(10) NINTH EMBODIMENT

[0734]FIG. 51 shows a data providing system 700 according to a ninthembodiment. A request terminal 702 having the construction of a personalcomputer corresponding to the request terminal used by the customer 3,described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, a data providing server703 having the construction of a personal computer corresponding to theagencies 4A to 4N described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, apackage providing server 704 having the construction of a personalcomputer corresponding to the sales company 5 described above withreference to FIGS. 1 to 3, and an advertiser/company server 705 havingthe construction of a personal computer corresponding to theadvertiser/company site 6 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to3, and a portable dedicated terminal 706 corresponding to the portablededicated terminals 7A to 7N described above with reference to FIGS. 1to 3 are connected to a system management server 701 having theconstruction of a personal computer corresponding to the systemmanagement site 2 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 via theInternet 707.

[0735] As shown in FIG. 52, in the system management server 701, a RAM(Random Access Memory) 712, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 713, a display part714, an input part 715, a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 716 and a networkinterface 717 are connected to a control part 710 such as a CPU (CentralProcessing Unit) with a bus 711.

[0736] In this case, the control part 710 reads various programspreviously stored in the ROM 713 and puts them on the RAM 712. Accordingto these various programs, the system management server 701 can executesimilar processing to the updating part 60 and the matching part 63described above with reference to FIG. 4, the accounting part 116described above with reference to FIG. 5, the accounting part 156, thecontent ID extracting part 161, the content search part 162 and the senddata generating part 164 described above with reference to FIG. 8, theadvertiser/company information updating part 213, the customerinformation updating part 215 and the matching part 216 described abovewith reference to FIG. 11, and the matching part 268 described abovewith reference to FIG. 25.

[0737] In this connection, the system management server 701 executes thesimilar processing to them according to the various programs previouslystored in the ROM 713. However, these various processing may be executedby installing a program storage medium storing these various programs inthe system management server 701.

[0738] Note that, such program storage medium for installing the variousprograms to execute the aforementioned various processing in the systemmanagement server 701 and for making them executable is not only limitedto packaged media such as a flexible disk, a CD-ROM or a DVD, but alsomay be a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disc, etc., in which thevarious programs can be temporarily or permanently stored. Furthermore,as means for storing the various programs in these program storagemedia, a cable or wireless communication medium such as a local areanetwork, the Internet and digital satellite broadcasting can be used,and they may be stored via various communication interfaces such as arooter and a modem.

[0739] The control part 710 records, stores and manages variousinformation such as customer registration information andadvertiser/company registration information, to be used in the wholesystem, on the hard disk of a hard disk drive 716.

[0740] Furthermore, the control part 710 can send/receive variousinformation such as customer information, advertiser/companyinformation, customer introduction information and advertiser/companyintroduction information, to/from the request terminal 702, the dataproviding server 703, the package providing server 704, theadvertiser/company server 705 and the portable dedicated terminal 706via the network interface 717.

[0741] In this manner, the system management server 701 having theconstruction of a personal computer can function in similar to thesystem management site 2 described above with reference to FIG. 1according to the various programs.

[0742] In this connection, for instance, the system management server701 uses the input part 715 and the display part 714 to confirm thevarious information or the like recorded on the hard disk drive 717.

[0743] As shown in FIG. 53, in the request terminal 702, a RAM 722, aROM 723, a display part 724, an input part 725, a hard disk drive 726and a network interface 727 are connected to a control part 720 such asa CPU with a bus 721.

[0744] In this case, the control part 720 reads various programspreviously stored in the ROM 723 and puts them on the RAM 722. Accordingto these various programs, the request terminal 702 can execute similarprocessing to the request data generating part 71 and the displaycontrol part 74 described above with reference to FIG. 4, the operatinginformation judging part 121, the request data generating part 122, thejudging part 125 and the accounting part 127 described above withreference to FIG. 5, and the request data generating part 321 and thedisplay control part 324 described above with reference to FIG. 28.

[0745] In this connection, the request terminal 702 executes the similarprocessing to them according to the various programs previously storedin the ROM 723. However, these various processing may be executed byinstalling a program storage medium in that these various programs havebeen stored in the request terminal 702.

[0746] Note that, such program storage medium for installing the variousprograms to execute the aforementioned various processing in the systemmanagement server 702 and for making them executable is not only limitedto packaged media such as a flexible disk, a CD-ROM or a DVD, but alsomay be a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disc, etc., in which thevarious programs can be temporarily or permanently stored. As means forstoring the various programs in these program storage media, a cable ora radio communication medium such as a local area network, the Internetor digital satellite broadcasting may be used, and they may be storedvia various communication interfaces such as a rooter and a modem.

[0747] The control part 720 records, stores and manages variousinformation such as address information on an accessible systemmanagement server 701 and the data providing server 703 on the hard diskof the hard disk drive 726.

[0748] Furthermore, the control part 720 can send/receive variousinformation such as customer information and a content data transmissionrequest to/from the system management server 701 and the data providingserver 703 via the network interface 727.

[0749] In this connection, in the request terminal 702, when thecustomer performs the rental reservation of content data and theportable dedicated terminal 706 to the data providing server 703 or thelike, the input part 725 and the display part 724 are used.

[0750] As shown in FIG. 54, in the data providing server 703, a RAM 732,a ROM 733, a display part 734, an input part 735, a hard disk drive 736and a network interface 737 are connected to a control part 730 such asa CPU with a bus 731.

[0751] In this case, the control part 730 reads various programspreviously stored in the ROM 733 and puts them on the RAM 732. Accordingto these various processing, the data providing server 703 can executesimilar processing to the content search part 62 and the package searchpart 64 described above with reference to FIG. 4, the recording controlpart 117 described above with reference to FIG. 5, the received datajudging part 155, the recording control part 157, the operatinginformation judging part 158 and the request data generating part 159described above with reference to FIG. 8, the search part 315 and thematching part 316 described above with reference to FIG. 28, thereceived data judging part 516, the content ID extracting part 517, thecustomer's update search part 518, the content search part 519, the senddata generating part 520, the customer ID extracting part 525, thejudging part 526, the value judging part 527 and the package search part528 described above with reference to FIG. 38, and the judging part 610and the value judging part 611 described above with reference to FIG.45.

[0752] In this connection, the data providing server 703 performs, inaccordance with the various programs previously stored in the ROM 733,the similar processing to the content search part 62 and package searchpart 64 as described with reference to FIG. 4, the recording controlpart 117 as described with reference to FIG. 5, the received datajudging part 155, recording control part 157, operation informationjudging part 158 and request data generating part 159 as described withreference to FIG. 8, the search part 315 and the matching part 316described above with reference to FIG. 28, the received data judgingpart 516, the content ID extracting part 517, the customer's updatesearch part 518, the content search part 519, the send data generatingpart 520, the customer ID extracting part 525, the judging part 526, thevalue judging part 527 and the package search part 528 described abovewith reference to FIG. 38, and the judging part 610 and the valuejudging part 611 described above with reference to FIG. 45. However,these various processing may be performed by installing a programstorage medium storing these various programs in the data providingserver 703.

[0753] Note that, such program storage medium for installing the variousprograms to execute the aforementioned various processing in the dataproviding server 703 and for making them executable is not only limitedto packaged media such as a flexible disk, a CD-ROM and a DVD, but alsomay be a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, etc., in which thevarious programs can be temporarily or permanently stored. Furthermore,as means for storing the various programs in these program storagemedia, a cable or a radio communication medium such as a local areanetwork, the Internet and digital satellite broadcasting may be used,and they may be stored via various communication interfaces such as arooter and a modem.

[0754] The control part 730 records, stores and manages variousinformation such as customer registration information on the customerusing the agency, content data to be provided to the portable dedicatedterminal 706 on the hard disk of the hard disk drive 736.

[0755] Furthermore, the control part 730 can send/receive variousinformation such as customer information, content data and packagedelivery ordering data to/from the system management server 701, thepackage providing server 704, and the request terminal 702 and theportable dedicated terminal 706 connected via the above systemmanagement server 701, via the network interface 737.

[0756] In this connection, in the data providing server 703, when thesystem management server 701 is requested for content data, when variousinformation recorded on the hard disk drive 736 are confirmed, or thelike, the input part 735 and the display part 734 are used.

[0757] As shown in FIG. 55, in the package providing server 704, a RAM742, a ROM 743, a display part 744, an input part 745, a hard disk drive746 and a network interface 747 are connected to a control part 740 suchas a CPU with a bus 741.

[0758] In this case, the control part 740 reads various programspreviously stored in the ROM 743 and puts them on the RAM 742. Accordingto these various programs, the package providing server 704 can executesimilar processing to the package ID extracting part 561, the packagesearch part 562, the package taking-out control part 564 and theshipment/packing instructing part 565 described above with reference toFIG. 38.

[0759] In this connection, the package providing server 704 executes thesimilar processing to them according to the various programs previouslystored in the ROM 743. However, these various processing may be executedby installing a program storage medium storing these various programs inthe package providing server 704.

[0760] Note that, such program storage medium for installing the variousprograms to execute the aforementioned various processing in the packageproviding server 704 and for making them executable is not only limitedto packaged media such as a flexible disk, a CD-ROM and a DVD, but alsomay be a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, etc., in which variousprograms can be temporarily or permanently stored. Furthermore, as meansfor storing the various programs in these program storage media, a cableor a radio communication medium such as a local area network, theInternet and digital satellite broadcasting may be used, and they may bestored via various communication interfaces such as a rooter and amodem.

[0761] The control part 740 records, stores and manages variousinformation such as the stock of packaged media and storage information,on the hard disk of the hard disk drive 746.

[0762] Furthermore, the control part 740 can send/receive variousinformation such as package delivery ordering data and deliveryarrangement completion data to/from the data providing server 703 viathe network interface 747.

[0763] In this connection, the package providing server 704, forinstance, in confirming the various information stored in the networkinterface 747, uses the input part 745 and the display part 744.

[0764] As shown in FIG. 56, in the advertiser/company server 705, a RAM752, a ROM 753, a display part 754, an input part 755, a hard disk drive756 and a network interface 757 are connected to a control part 750 suchas a CPU via a bus 751.

[0765] In this case, the control part 750 reads various programspreviously stored in the ROM 753 and puts them on the RAM 752. Accordingto these various programs, the advertiser/company server 705 can executesimilar processing to the sending control part 231, the display controlpart 234, the customer selecting part 231, and the send data generatingpart 238 described above with reference to FIG. 11.

[0766] In this connection, the advertiser/company server 705 executesthe similar processing to them according to the various programspreviously stored in the ROM 753. However, these various processing maybe executed by installing a program storage medium storing these variousprograms in the advertiser/company server 705.

[0767] Note that, such program storage medium for installing the variousprograms to execute the aforementioned various processing in theadvertiser/company server 705 and for making them executable is not onlylimited to packaged media such as a flexible disk, a CD-ROM and a DVD,but also may be a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, etc., in thatvarious programs can be temporarily or permanently stored. Furthermore,as means for storing the various programs in these program storagemedia, a cable or a radio communication medium such as a local areanetwork, the Internet and digital satellite broadcasting may be used,and they may be stored via various communication interfaces such as arooter and a modem.

[0768] The control part 750 records, stores and manages variousinformation such as distribution data to be provided via the Internet707 on the hard disk of the hard disk drive 756.

[0769] Furthermore, the control part 750 can send/receive variousinformation such as advertiser/company information and customerintroduction information to/from the system management server 701 viathe network interface 757.

[0770] In this connection, the package providing server 705, in enteringthe advertiser/company information or the like, uses the input part 755and the display part 754.

[0771] As shown in FIG. 57, the portable dedicated terminal 706 has afunction to record/reproduce content data, and a terminal body 770 whichcan be carried freely can be detachably attached to a cradle 771 thathas a charging function to the above terminal body 770 and acommunication function using the Internet 707.

[0772] In this case, in the terminal body 770, a display part 772 beinga liquid crystal display is provided at the front of the case. Imagesbased on content data, various operational screens used to obtain theabove content data, or the like can be displayed on the above displaypart 772.

[0773] At the lower side of the display part 772 on the front surface ofthe case, a reproducing start button 773, a play/stop button 774 and asend button 775 are provided. By means of these buttons, a reproducingstarting command and a reproducing stop command of content data, and asend command to send various requests to the data providing server 703or the like can be entered.

[0774] In this connection, on the front surface of the case, a chargelamp 776 that, when the terminal body 770 is on charging, notifies thecustomer of the charge is provided, and the logotype 777 of the agencyselling and renting the portable dedicated terminal 706 is represented.

[0775] On the top surface of the case, a headphone jack 778 is provided.On the right surface of the case, a power button 779 and a volumecontrol dial 780 are provided. In addition to this, on the left surfaceof the case, a cancel button 781 and a rotational operating button thatcan be rotated and pushed freely (hereinafter, this is referred to asjog dial) 782 are provided as slightly projecting from the surface ofthe case.

[0776] The terminal body 770 outputs sounds obtained by reproducingcontent data from the headphone jack 778 to the headphones, to allow thecustomer to listen to the sounds. At this time, the customer can controlthe volume by the volume control dial 780.

[0777] Furthermore, in the terminal body 770, when the operationalscreen or the like is displayed on the display part 772, if the customerrotates the jog dial 782, the operational screen is scrolled accordingto the operations. When the customer erroneously entered information ora command on the above operational screen, the customer can cancel itwith the cancel button 781.

[0778] On the other hand, in the cradle 771, an AC (Alternating Current)adapter 790 is provided. If the AC adapter 790 is connected to mainbattery or the like in the state where the terminal body 770 is mounted,a battery in the terminal body 770 can be charged.

[0779] In the cradle 771, a modular jack 791, an audio output terminal792 and a USB (Universal Serial Bus) terminal 793 are provided. Contentdata received by communicating with the system management server 701 andthe data providing server 703 via the above modular jack 791 or the likeis sent to the terminal body 770, audio data obtained from the terminalbody 770 is outputted to an external speaker or the like from the audiooutput terminal 792, and content data obtained from the outside can betaken in from the USB terminal 793 and can be sent to the terminal body770.

[0780] Now, the circuit construction of the portable dedicated terminal706 will be described with reference to FIG. 58. First, in the cradle771, a storing part 802, a USB controller 803, the audio output terminal792 and a modem 804 are connected to a CPU 800 via a bus 801. Powersupply voltage taken in from the AC adapter 790 is converted into theinternal voltage of a predetermined voltage by a power supplying part805, and the voltage is supplied to the CPU 800 and each circuit block,so that the whole of the cradle 771 is driven.

[0781] In the terminal body 770, a flash memory 822, a LCD (LiquidCrystal Display) controller 823, an amplifier 824, and an operationalkey controller 825 are connected to a CPU 820 via a bus 821. Bysupplying the internal voltage from a battery circuit part 826 to theCPU 820 and each circuit block, the whole of the terminal body 770 isdriven.

[0782] When the terminal body 770 is mounted on the cradle 771, a powerinput terminal 831 is connected to a power supply terminal 830 in thecradle 771. Thereby, power supply voltage supplied from the powersupplying part 805 in the above cradle 771 sequentially via the powersupply terminal 830 and the power input terminal 831 is taken in thebattery circuit part 826 and the battery is charged. Thus, even if theterminal body 770 is detached from the cradle 71, the portable dedicatedterminal 706 can be freely used.

[0783] If the terminal body 770 is mounted on the cradle 771, amain-body-side information input/output terminal 833 is connected to acradle-side information input/output terminal 832 provided in the cradle771, so that data and various information can be sent to or receivedfrom the cradle 771.

[0784] Practically, in the portable dedicated terminal 706, the USBterminal 793 of the cradle 771 can be connected to the data providingserver 703 via a USB cable (not shown). Content data sent from the dataproviding server 703 via the USB cable by customer's rental reservationor the like is taken in the USB controller 803 in the cradle 771 fromthe USB terminal 793, and the above taken in content data is sent fromthe cradle-side information input/output terminal 832 to the terminalbody 770.

[0785] In this case, the terminal body 770 takes the content data sentfrom the cradle-side information input/output terminal 832 of the cradle771 in the CPU 820 from the main-body-side information input/outputterminal 833 via an interface part 834, and records the content data inthe flash memory 822.

[0786] In this manner, if recording the content data in the flash memory882, the terminal body 770 takes a reproducing start command given fromthe operational key controller 825 in the CPU 820 according to theoperation of the reproducing start button 773, reproduces the contentdata from the flash memory 822, and sends the above reproduced contentdata from the amplifier 824 to the headphone jack 778 as well as sendingthe above content data from the LCD controller 823 to the display part772. Thereby, the customer can enjoy the content.

[0787] Furthermore, when various information such as a request to obtaincontent data is entered via the operational key controller 825, theterminal body 770 takes this in the CPU 820, and sends this from theabove CPU 820 to the cradle 711 sequentially via the interface part 834and the main-body-side information input/output terminal 833.

[0788] At this time, the cradle 711 takes in various information givenfrom the terminal body 770 from the cradle-side information input/outputterminal 832, and sends the above taken-in various information from themodem 804 to the data providing server 703 or the like via the modularjack 791 and the system management server 701.

[0789] As a result, when the various information such as content data issent from the data providing server 703 or the like via the systemmanagement server 701, the cradle 711 takes this in the CPU 800 from themodular jack 791 via the modem 804, and supplies the above receivedvarious information from the cradle-side information input/outputterminal 832 to the terminal body 770.

[0790] The terminal body 770 takes various information sent from thecradle 771 in the CPU 820 from the main-body-side informationinput/output terminal 833 via the interface part 834, and notifies thecustomer of the contents of that information via the display part 772and the headphone jack 778, or records the various information in theflash memory 822.

[0791] In this manner, in the terminal body 770, the CPU 820 readsvarious programs previously stored in the ROM 840 and puts them on theRAM 841. According to these various programs, the terminal body 770 canexecute similar processing to the recording control part 81, thereproduction control part 84 and the request data generating part 86described above with reference to FIG. 4, the request data generatingpart 241, the recording control part 245 and the reproduction controlpart 248 described above with reference to FIG. 11, the request datagenerating part 270 described above with reference to FIG. 25, thereproduction control part 342, the request data generating part 344 andthe recording control part 347 described above with reference to FIG.28, the operational information judging part 541, the request datagenerating part 542, the judging part 545, the recording control part546 and the reproduction control part 548 described above with referenceto FIG. 38, and the request data generating part 630 described abovewith reference to FIG. 45.

[0792] In this connection, the terminal body 770 of the portablededicated terminal 706 executes the similar processing to the recordingcontrol part 81, the reproduction control part 84 and request datagenerating part 86 described above with reference to FIG. 4, the requestdata generating part 241, the recording control part 245 and thereproduction control apart 248 described above with reference to FIG.11, the request data generating part 270 described above with referenceto FIG. 25, the reproduction control part 342, the request datagenerating part 344 and the recording control part 347 described abovewith reference to FIG. 28, the operational information judging part 541,the request data generating part 542, the judging part 545, therecording control part 546 and the reproduction control apart 548described above with reference to FIG. 38, and the request datagenerating part 630 described above with reference to FIG. 45, accordingto the various programs previously stored in the ROM 840. However, thesevarious processing may be executed by installing a program storagemedium storing these various programs in the terminal body 770.

[0793] Note that, such program storage medium for installing the variousprograms to execute the aforementioned various processing in theterminal body 770 of the portable dedicated terminal 706 and for makingit executable is not only limited to packaged media such as a flexibledisk, a CD-ROM and a DVD, but also may be a semiconductor memory, amagnetic disk, etc., in which various programs can be temporarily orpermanently stored. Furthermore, as means for storing the variousprograms in these program storage media, a cable or a radiocommunication medium such as a local area network, the Internet anddigital satellite broadcasting, may be used, and the various programsmay be stored via various communication interfaces such as a rooter anda modem.

[0794] The cradle 771 stores various information such as the addressesof accessible servers on a storage medium 802, so that the CPU 800 cancommunicate with the system management server 701 or the like accordingto the above various information in the storing part 802.

[0795] According to the above configuration, in this data providingsystem 700, each of the system management server 701, the requestterminal 702, the data providing server 703, the package providingserver 704 and the advertiser/company server 705 has the construction ofa personal computer.

[0796] Therefore, in this data providing system 700, it is unnecessaryto newly create the system management server 701, request terminal 702,data providing server 703, package providing server 704 andadvertiser/company server 705 as hardware. Thereby, only by installingvarious programs in existing personal computer, the system can be easilyconstructed with these personal computers.

[0797] In this data providing system 700, with respect to the portablededicated terminal 706, hardware has been newly prepared on purposewithout applying a personal computer. This is because, by making theportable dedicated terminal 706 portable and have simplified operationalbuttons, a person who does not have a personal computer and a person whois inexperienced in the operations of a personal computer can easilymanage the portable dedicated terminal 706.

[0798] According to the above configuration, the system is constructedusing the system management server 701, the request terminal 702, thedata providing server 703, the package providing server 704 and theadvertiser/company server 705 each having the configuration of apersonal computer. Therefore, the system can be easily constructed byusing existing personal computers as the system management server 701,request terminal 702, data providing server 703, package providingserver 704 and advertiser/company server 705.

(11) TENTH EMBODIMENT

[0799]FIG. 59 in which the same reference numerals are added tocorresponding parts in FIG. 51 shows a data providing system 900according to a tenth embodiment. The data providing system 900 is formedsimilarly to the data providing system 700 according to the ninthembodiment, except for the configuration of a portable dedicatedterminal 910 that corresponds to the portable dedicated terminals 7A to7N described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

[0800] In this case, as shown in FIG. 60, the portable dedicatedterminal 910 has a function to record/reproduce content data. A terminalbody 911 freely portable can be freely detachably mounted on a cradle912 having a charging function to the above terminal body 911 and acommunication function using the Internet 707.

[0801] In the terminal body 911, a display part 913 being a liquidcrystal display is provided on the front surface of the case. Videobased on content data, various operating screens used to obtain theabove content data, or the like can be displayed on the above displaypart 913.

[0802] Under the display part 913 on the front surface of the case, acharacter input key group 914 having the arrangement of ten keys “0” to“9”, a character type change key 915 and a cancel key 916 are provided.By using the character input key group 914 as ten key in a state where acontent selection screen is displayed on the display part 913, thecustomer can enter numerals for bar code as identification informationpreviously corresponded to content and can selectively specify desiredcontent. At the same time, by using the character input key group 914together with the character type change key 915 and the cancel key 916,the customer can enter the title of the content and the like in Japanesecharacters (hiragana, katakana and Chinese characters), English letters(alphabets), numerals and symbols, etc., and can selectively specifydesired content.

[0803] In this connection, on the front surface of the case, a chargelamp 917 that notifies, when the terminal body 911 is on charging, thecustomer of this charging is provided, and the logotype 918 of theagency which sells and rents the portable dedicated terminal 910 isrepresented.

[0804] On the top surface of the case, a headphone jack 919 and amicrophone 920 are provided. On the right side of the case, a powerbutton 921 and a volume control dial 922 are provided.

[0805] In addition to this, a send button 923 to send various requeststo the data providing server 703 or the like is provided on the leftside of the case, and a jog dial 924 which can be rotated and pushedfreely is provided so as to slightly projecting from the surface of theabove case.

[0806] Thereby, in the terminal body 911, by rotating and pushing thejog dial 924 in the state where an operating screen for the reproducingof content data is displayed on the display part 913, the customer canenter various commands such as a reproducing start command and areproducing stop command of content data.

[0807] The terminal body 911 outputs voice thus obtained by reproducingthe content data from the headphone jack 919 to headphones (not shown),and displays video thus obtained by reproducing the above content dataon the display part 913. Thereby, the customer views the content. Atthis time, the customer can control the volume by turning the volumecontrol dial 922.

[0808] As shown in FIG. 61, in the terminal body 911, a camera 925 forpattern recognition is provided at the upper center part of the back ofthe case. The terminal body 911 picks up the image of a bar codepreviously corresponded to the content by that camera 925, so that thecustomer can selectively specify desired content. And by using the abovecamera 925 together with the microphone 920, motion images and sound fora predetermined time (for several seconds) can be taken in for the memoof desired information.

[0809] Furthermore, at the lower part of the back of the case, adetachable battery pack 926 is mounted. Battery voltage is supplied fromthe above battery pack 926 to the internal various circuits according tothe depression of the power button 921 so as to activate the portablededicated terminal 910.

[0810] In this connection, on the bottom of the case, a connector thatwill be described later is provided, and the terminal body 911 can beelectrically connected to the cradle 912 via the above connector. Whenthe connector 928 of an AC adapter 927 connected to main power or thelike is connected to that connector, the battery pack 926 can bedirectly charged without via the cradle 912.

[0811] On the other hand, in the cradle 912 (FIG. 60), a connector 929is provided on the top surface of the case. By connecting the connectorof the terminal body 911 to the above connector 929, that terminal body911 can be electrically connected to the terminal body 911 (that is, theterminal body 911 can be mounted).

[0812] In the cradle 912, the connector 928 of the AC adapter 927 ismounted freely and detachably. If the AC adapter 927 is connected tomains power or the like, power supply voltage is supplied to each of theinternal circuits from the above AC adapter 927, so as to activate theportable dedicated terminal 910. If the terminal body 911 iselectrically connected to the cradle 912, power supply voltage issupplied from that AC adapter 927 to the battery pack 926 of the aboveterminal body 911 and the battery pack 926 is charged.

[0813] In the cradle 912, a modular jack 930 for public network that thecommunication speed is relatively slow, and a jack for Ethernet(trademark) 931 that the communication speed is much faster than thepublic network (hereinafter, this is referred to as Ethernet jack) areprovided.

[0814] If the terminal body 911 is mounted on the cradle 912, theterminal body 911 makes the customer arbitrarily select one of thepublic network and the Ethernet (trademark) as communication line to beused, and communicates with the system management server 701 and thedata providing server 703 via the modular jack 930 or the Ethernet jack931 corresponding to the above selected public network or Ethernet(trademark).

[0815] In addition to this, in the cradle 912, a video output terminal932 and an audio output terminal 933 are provided.

[0816] If the content data is reproduced in the state where the terminalbody 911 is mounted on the cradle 912, the terminal body 911 sends videodata and audio data composing the above content data to an externaldevice such as a television receiving set via the video output terminal932 and the audio output terminal 933, so that the customer can view thecontent.

[0817] Here, the circuit construction of the portable dedicated terminal910 will be described with reference to FIG. 62. First, in the terminalbody 911, a main CPU 940 for integrally controlling the entire circuitsin the above terminal body 911 and cradle 912 is provided.

[0818] Furthermore, in the terminal body 911, a sub CPU 941 thatcontrols starting-up/stop of each circuit in the above terminal body 911and also has a function as a human interface is provided.

[0819] When the power button 921 is depressed and a starting-up commandis given from an operating part 942 composed of the above power button921, the character input key group 914, the character type change key915, the cancel key 916, the volume control dial 922, the send button923 and the jog dial 924, the sub CPU 941 takes battery voltage suppliedfrom the battery pack 926 in the internal power monitoring circuit 941A,converts the battery voltage into internal voltage at plural kinds ofpredetermined levels in the above power monitoring circuit 941A, andsupplies them to corresponding circuits in the terminal body 911, toseparately activate these circuits.

[0820] Then, the sub CPU 941, separately controls the starting-up/stopof each circuit in the terminal body 911 according to the content of theprocessing that the main CPU 940 executed. Thereby, wasteful consumptionof battery voltage of the battery pack 926 can be reduced to the utmost.

[0821] When the terminal body 911 starts, the main CPU 940 reads variousprograms previously stored in a memory for system 943 being a flash ROMvia a memory bus 81, and puts them on an SDRAM 944.

[0822] Thereby, the main CPU 940 can execute processing similar to therecording control part 81, the reproduction control part 84 and therequest data generating part 86 described above with reference to FIG.4, the request data generating part 241, the recording control part 245and the reproduction control part 248 described above with reference toFIG. 11, the request data generating part 270 described above; withreference to FIG. 25, the reproduction control part 342, the requestdata generating part 344 and the recording control part 347 describedabove with reference to FIG. 28, the operational information judgingpart 541, the request data generating part 542, the judging part 545,the recording control part 546 and the reproduction control part 548described above with reference to FIG. 38, and the request datagenerating part 630 described above with reference to FIG. 45, accordingto the various programs.

[0823] Specifically, in the main CPU 940, in advance of the sale and therental of the portable dedicated terminal 910 at the agency, contentdata that the customer specified for purchase and/or rental, header dataadded to the above content data, the customer ID issued in the customerregistration, or the like, are recorded in a memory for data 945 being aflash ROM as compression-coded.

[0824] After the user buys or rents the portable dedicated terminal 910,if the customer enters a request to reproduce content data from theoperating part 942 sequentially via the sub CPU 941 and an I²C bus B2being a serial bus (this is generally called SM (System Management)bus), the main CPU 940 reads reproducing operation screen data from thememory for system 943 via the memory bus B1 in response to the request,and sends the read reproducing operation screen data to a timinggenerator 946.

[0825] The timing generator 946 controls the display part 913 based onscreen data and video data supplied from the main CPU 940 (controls theemitting timing of liquid crystal, emitting intensity, and so on, foreach of plural pixels of one screen of the display part 913). Thereby,if the reproducing operation screen data is supplied from the above mainCPU 940, a reproducing operation screen based on the reproducingoperation screen data is displayed on the display part 913.

[0826] In this state, when content data to be reproduced and itsreproducing are specified on the reproducing operation screen accordingto the operations of the operating part 942 and a content dataspecifying command and a reproducing start command are supplied from theoperating part 942 to the main CPU 940 sequentially via the sub CPU 941and the I²C bus B2, the main CPU 940 reads the specifiedcompression-coded content data (hereinafter, this is referred to ascompressed content data) from the memory for data 945 via the memory busB1.

[0827] Then, the main CPU 940 decodes the compressed content data readfrom the memory for data 945. In video data and audio data forming thusobtained content data, the main CPU 940 transmits the video data to thetiming generator 946, and converts the audio data into an analog audiosignal in a digital-to-analog converter 947 and then sends this to theheadphone jack 919 via a headphone amplifier 948.

[0828] Thereby, the main CPU 940 displays the images of the contentbased on the video data on the display part 913 via the timing generator946, and outputs the sound of the content based on the audio signal fromheadphones (not shown) connected to the headphone jack 919, so that thecustomer can view the content.

[0829] If a memo input command is given from the operating part 942sequentially via the sub CPU 941 and the I²C bus B2, the main CPU 940picks up a subject by the camera 925 for a predetermined time and takingin thus obtained video data. At this time, the main CPU 940 picks upsurrounding sound via the microphone 920 for the predetermined time,converts thus obtained audio signal into digital audio data sequentiallyvia a microphone amplifier 949 and an analog-to-digital converter 950,and takes this in. The main CPU 940 compression-codes these video dataand audio data as memo data, and then transmits them to the memory fordata 945 via the memory bus B1 for recording.

[0830] In this connection, at this time, if a character string such as acomment on the memo is supplied as text data from the operating part 942sequentially via the sub CPU 941 and the I²C bus B2 according to theoperation of the character input key group 914, the character typechange key 915 and the cancel key 916, the main CPU 940 adds the abovetext data to the memo data and compression-codes them, and recording itin the memory for data 945.

[0831] If a reproducing start command for the memo data is supplied fromthe operating part 942 sequentially via the sub CPU 941 and the I²C busB2, the main CPU 940 performs processing similarly to the reproducing ofthe content data described above. Thereby, the customer can confirm thecontents of the memo by the display part 913 and the headphones.

[0832] By the way, the main CPU 940 is electrically connected to aconnector 953 provided on the bottom of the case sequentially via aperipheral component interconnect (PCI) bus B3; a bus switch 951, aspecified bus based on the PCI standard (hereinafter, this is referredto as PCI-based bus) B4, and a protecting circuit 952.

[0833] The protecting circuit 952 has functions to protect each circuitin the terminal body 911 from the external static electricity and toprevent leakage of unnecessary radiation occurred by data (signal)processing in the terminal body 911 to the outside.

[0834] Furthermore, the protecting circuit 952 detects whether not theconnector 929 of the regular cradle 912 has been connected to theconnector 953, and notifies the main CPU 940 of the detection result.

[0835] The main CPU 940 controls the bus switch 951 according to thedetection result given from the protecting circuit 952, so that untilthe connector 929 of the regular cradle 912 is connected to theconnector 953, the main CPU 940 interrupts electrical connection to theprotecting circuit 952, and only when the connector 929 of the regularcradle 912 has been connected to the above connector 953, the main CPU940 electrically connects the terminal body 911 to the protectingcircuit 952 via the bus switch 951.

[0836] Thereby, even if an electronic device different from the cradle912 is erroneously connected to the connector 953 and the aboveconnector 953 short circuited, the main CPU 940 can protect itself fromcrash or the like.

[0837] Here, the cradle 912 takes power supply voltage supplied from theAC adapter 927 connected to mains power or the like in the internalpower monitoring circuit 955, converts the power source voltage into theinternal voltage at plural kinds of predetermined levels in the abovepower monitoring circuit 955, and supplies them to each correspondingcircuit in the above cradle 912 to activate each of these circuits.

[0838] If the terminal body 911 is mounted on the cradle 912, the powersource voltage is converted into charge voltage at a predetermined levelin the power monitoring circuit 955, and the above charge voltage issupplied to the battery pack 926 from the connector 929 via theconnector 953 of the terminal body 911 for charging.

[0839] If an operating request for communication is given from theoperating part 942 sequentially via the sub CPU 941 and the I²C bus B2in a state where the terminal body 911 is mounted on the cradle 912, themain CPU 940 reads communication operation screen data from the memoryfor system 943 via the memory bus B1 responding to that, transmits theabove read communication operation screen data to the timing generator946, to display a communication operation screen based on thecommunication operation screen data on the display part 913.

[0840] In this state, when the customer arbitrary selects one of thepublic network and the Ethernet (trademark) on the communicationoperation screen by operating the operating part 942 and specifies theURL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the communication party, and a commandto selectively specify the communication line, the URL and a sendcommand are given from the operating part 942 sequentially via the subCPU 941 and the I²C bus. B2 accordingly, and the main CPU 940 generatesaccess request data to the communication party specified by the aboveURL.

[0841] When the Ethernet (trademark) is selected as the communicationline to be used in communication, the main CPU 940 compression codes theaccess request data and sends thus obtained compressed access requestdata from the connector 953 to the cradle 912 sequentially via a PCI busB3, the bus switch 951, a PCI-based bus B4 and the protecting circuit952. In the above cradle 912, the compressed access request data is sentfrom the Ethernet jack 931 to the communication party on the Ethernet(trademark), sequentially via the connector 929, an Ethernet controller956 and an Ethernet interface 957.

[0842] As a result, when access confirmation data in response to theaccess request from the communication party is compression-coded andsent via the Ethernet (trademark), the main CPU 940 takes the abovecompression-coded access confirmation data (hereinafter, this isreferred to as compressed access confirmation data) in the connector 953from the Ethernet jack 931 of the cradle 912 sequentially via theEthernet interface 957, the Ethernet controller 956 and the connector929, and decodes the above access confirmation data from that connector953 sequentially through the protecting circuit 952, the PCI-based busB4, the bus switch 951 and the PCI bus B3.

[0843] Now, in the compressed access confirmation data sent from thesystem management server 701 that the portable dedicated terminal 910can communicate to (that is, communication has,been permitted) and thedata providing server 703 at the agency, an identification code uniqueto the above system management server 701 and the data providing server703 (or the agency) has been stored.

[0844] On the other hand, in the memory for data 945 in the terminalbody 911, when the portable dedicated terminal 910 is sold or rented,the identification code peculiar to the communicable system managementserver 701 (that is, communication has been permitted) and the dataproviding server 703 (or the agency) has been recorded.

[0845] Therefore, when the access confirmation data is decoded and theaccess confirmation data is created, the main CPU 940 compares theidentification code stored in the above access confirmation data to theidentification code previously recorded in the memory for data 945.

[0846] As a result, if the compared identification codes coincide, themain CPU 940 determines that the specified communication party is theregular permitted communication party, and thus continues thecommunications. Thereby, the customer can request the transmission ofcontent data, introduction of advertisers/companies, and so on.

[0847] On the contrary, if the compared identification codes aredifferent or the identification code has not been stored in the accessconfirmation data, the main CPU 940 determines that the specifiedcommunication party is different from the permitted communication party,and then forcedly stops the communication. Thereby, it can be preventedthat the communication party that is not allowed to communicatecommunicates with the portable dedicated terminal 910 and illegally usescontent data and so on.

[0848] In this manner, the main CPU 940 can communicate only with thecommunication party that is previously permitted communications, via theEthernet (trademark). As a result, if various screen data such ascompression-coded advertiser/company introduction data and contentselection screen data (hereinafter, these are referred to as variouscompressed screen data), compressed content data for advertisement andfor obtaining are sent from the system management server 701 and thedata providing server 703 being the regular communication party via theEthernet (trademark), the main CPU 940 takes in these various data viathe similar path to the aforementioned compressed access confirmationdata, and decodes them as occasion demands.

[0849] In this connection, when the main CPU 940 takes in the variouscompressed screen data, the main CPU 940 decodes them, and thentransmits it to the timing generator 946, to display screens based onthe various screen data (screen for introducing advertisers/companies,content selection screen or the like) on the display part 913 via thetiming generator 946.

[0850] While the main CPU 940 is communicating with the communicationparty, that has a permission of communications, via the Ethernet(trademark), if various requests such as the transmission of content aregiven from the operating part 942 sequentially via the sub CPU 941 andthe I²C bus B2 and thereby the main CPU 940 generates request dataaccording to that request, the main CPU 940 compression-codes the abovegenerated request data, and sends thus obtained compressed request datato the regular communication party via the Ethernet (trademark) by thesimilar path to the aforementioned compressed access request data.

[0851] In this connection, in the main CPU 940, when selectivelyspecifying desired content to obtain, the customer can enter the titleof the desired content, the bar code number previously allotted to theabove content, and so on, via the operating part 942 as described above.

[0852] At this time, the main CPU 940 can picks up the image of the barcode allotted to the content by the camera 925. In this case, the mainCPU 940 can analyze the picked-up image of the bar code obtained fromthe camera 925 according to a predetermined image recognition program,so that the selectively specified content can be specified.

[0853] On the contrary, when the customer selects the public network asa communication line which is used for the communication, the main CPU940 compression-codes the access request data, and transmits thusobtained compressed access request data as serial data, to the sub CPU941 via the I²C bus B2.

[0854] The sub CPU 941 has a function as a UART (Universal AsynchronousReceiver Transmitter) device. The sub CPU 941 converts the compressedaccess request data supplied from the main CPU 940 into parallel data,and then transmits this from the connector 953 to the cradle 912 via theprotecting circuit 952. In the above cradle 912, the compressed accessrequest data is sent from the modular jack 930 to the communicationparty via the public network sequentially via the connector 929 and amodem interface 958.

[0855] As a result, if the compressed access confirmation data is sentfrom the communication party via the public network, the main CPU 940takes this in the connector 953 from the modular jack 930 of the cradle912 sequentially via the modem interface 958 and the connector 929,takes this in the sub CPU 941 from the connector 953 via the protectingcircuit 952 to converts this into serial data, and then takes the serialdata in via the I²C bus B2 to decode it.

[0856] In this manner, also when the public network is used, the mainCPU 940 compares the identification code stored in the accessconfirmation data obtained by decoding the compressed accessconfirmation data, to the identification code recorded in the memory fordata 945.

[0857] Only when thus compared identification codes are coincide, themain CPU 940 judges that the accessing communication party is theregular communication party having the permission of communications, andthus continues the communications using the public network.

[0858] Then, when the various compressed image data such asadvertiser/company introduction data and content selection screen dataand the compressed content data for advertisement and for obtaining aresent from the system management server 701 and the data providing server703 being the above communication party in a state where the main CPU940 is communicating with the communication party having the permissionof communication, via the public network, the main CPU 940 takes thesevarious data in the sub CPU 941 from the modular jack 930, and performsprocessing similar to the aforementioned case of using the Ethernet(trademark).

[0859] If various requests such as the transmission of content are givenfrom the operating part 942 to the main CPU 940 sequentially via the subCPU 941 and the I²C bus B2 in a state where the main CPU 940 iscommunicating with the communication party having the permission ofcommunication, via the public network and thereby the main CPU 940generates request data according to that requests, the main CPU 940compression-codes the above generated request data, and transmits thusobtained compressed request data to the regular communication party viathe public network through a path between the sub CPU 941 and themodular jack 930.

[0860] By the way, in either of the Ethernet (trademark) and the publicnetwork, for instance, when the content selection screen being athree-dimensional virtual reality space image described above withreference to FIGS. 29 to 31 is displayed on the display part 913, themain CPU 940 performs processing similarly to the aforementioned portable dedicated terminal 303 according to the sixth embodiment (FIGS. 28to 37).

[0861] When the image of customer is moved to the specified coordinateposition on the content selection screen (the image of first floor inshop and the image of second floor in shop), the main CPU 940compression-codes specified coordinate position data representing thatthe above image of customer moved to the specified coordinate position,and then sends the compression-coded data to the data providing server703 via the Ethernet (trademark) or the public network that is selectedat this time.

[0862] At this time, when the data providing server 703 receives thespecified coordinate position data from the portable dedicated terminal910, the data providing server 703 compression-codes content data foradvertisement (that is, commercial data), specified by the abovespecified coordinate position data, and sends thus obtained compressedcontent data to the portable dedicated-terminal 910 via the Ethernet(trademark) or the public network that is the same path as the sendingpath of the compression-coded specified coordinate position data instreaming, according to the UDP/IP (User Datagram Protocol/InternetProtocol).

[0863] As a result, when taking in the compressed content data foradvertisement sent from the data providing server 703, the main CPU 940temporarily stores this in the SDRAM 944.

[0864] The main CPU 940 reads the compressed content data foradvertisement from the SDRAM 944 and decodes this, and in video data andaudio data forming the obtained content data, the main CPU 940 transmitsthe video data to the timing generator 946, and converts the audio datainto an analog audio signal in the digital-to-analog converter 947, andthen transmits the audio signal to the headphone jack 919 via theheadphone amplifier 948.

[0865] Thereby, the main CPU 940 displays the image of content foradvertisement based on the video data on the display part 913 by thetiming generator 946, and outputs the sound of the content foradvertisement based on the audio signal from the headphones connected tothe headphone jack 919. Thus, the customer can view a part of thecontent and so on, for advertisement.

[0866] In this manner, the main CPU 940 reproduces in streaming thecompressed content data for advertisement that was sent in streamingfrom the system management server 701 and the data providing server 703being the regular communication party, by using the SDRAM 944 as buffer.

[0867] When desired content data is selectively specified on the contentselection screen being a three-dimensional virtual reality space imagedisplayed on the display part 913, the main CPU 940 compression-codescontent specifying data representing the above selectively-specifiedcontent data, and then sends the compression-coded data to the dataproviding server 703 via the Ethernet (trademark) or the public networkthat is selected at this time.

[0868] At this time, when the data providing server 703 receives thecontent specifying data from the portable dedicated terminal 910, thedata providing server 703 compression-codes the content data to beobtained, which is specified by the above content specifying data, andsends thus obtained compressed content data to the portable dedicatedterminal 910 via the Ethernet (trademark) or the public network that isthe same path as the sending path of the compression-coded contentspecifying data, according to the TCP/IP (Transmission ControlProtocol/Internet).

[0869] When taking in the compressed content data for obtaining sentfrom the data providing server 7903, the main CPU 940 temporarily storesthis in the SDRAM 944 as it is, and transmits this in the memory fordata 945 via the memory bus B1 while using the above SDRAM 944 as abuffer for recording.

[0870] In this manner, when the main CPU 940 obtained various data suchas compressed content data from the system management server 701 and thedata providing server 703, the main CPU 940 uses the SDRAM 944 as abuffer. Thereby, these various data can be downloaded while preventingerrors from occuring in the processing of these various data.

[0871] In addition to this, when the terminal body 911 is mounted on thecradle 912, the main CPU 940 can make the customer arbitrary selecteither the display part 913 and the headphone jack 919 of the terminalbody 911 or an external device such as a television receiving set on thereproducing operation screen displayed on the display part 913, as thedestination of reproduced content data.

[0872] When the customer selects the display part 913 and the headphonejack 919 of the terminal body 911 as the destination of the reproducedcontent data of the content data on the reproducing operation screen anda command to selectively specify the display part 913 and the headphonejack is given from the operating part 942 sequentially via the sub CPU941 and the I²C bus B2 according to that (with a command to selectivelyspecify content data and a reproducing start command), the main CPU 940reproduces the compressed content data from the memory for data 945 anddecodes the reproduced data similarly to the aforementioned case wherethe terminal body 911 is not mounted on the cradle 912. Thus, thecustomer can view the content by the display part 913 and theheadphones.

[0873] On the contrary, if the customer selects the external device asthe destination of reproduced content data on the reproducing operationscreen and a command to selectively specify the external device is givenfrom the operating part 942 according to that sequentially via the subCPU 941 and the I²C bus. B2 (with the command to selectively specify thecontent data and the reproducing start command), the main CPU 940 readsthe specified compressed content data from the memory for data 945 viathe memory bus B1.

[0874] The main CPU 940 decodes the compressed content data, and invideo data and audio data forming thus obtained content data, the mainCPU 940 converts the video data into an analog video signal in adigital-to-analog converter 959 for video, and then transmits the videosignal from the connector 953 to the cradle 912 via the protectingcircuit 952, and sends that video signal from the video output terminal932 to the external device via the connector 929 in the above cradle912.

[0875] At that time, the main CPU 940 converts the audio data formingthe content data into an analog audio signal in the digital-to-analogconverter 947, and then transmits the audio signal from the connector953 to the cradle 912 via the protecting circuit 952, converts thataudio signal into an analog audio signal of the left and the right twochannels via a power amplifier 960 in the above cradle 912, and thensends the audio signal from the audio output terminal 933 to theexternal device.

[0876] Thereby, the customer can enjoy the content for example by alarge screen display and a speaker with high quality sound, by using notonly the terminal body 911 but also the external device.

[0877] Furthermore, when the terminal body 911 is mounted on the cradle912, the main CPU 940 processes not only the content data but also memodata similarly to the above content data, so that the customer canconfirm the contents of the memo by one of the display part 913 and theheadphones of the terminal body 911 and the external device.

[0878] Note that, in this tenth embodiment, the main CPU 940 controlsthe memory for system 943 and the memory for data 945 via a control busB5, and controls the digital-to-analog converter 947 and theanalog-to-digital converter 950 for video and audio, via the I²C bus B2.

[0879] Furthermore, when the transmission request data for content datais generated, the main CPU 940 stores content specifying informationthat specifies desired content by its title, bar code and so on, whetheror not the content data has been bought and/or rented, paymentinformation on the purchase price and the rental charges for the contentdata (as paying method, for example, payment by credit), the customerID, etc., in the above transmission request data.

[0880] Whenever the data providing server 703 receives the abovetransmission request data from the portable dedicated terminal 910, thedata providing server 703 performs accounting based on customerinformation on the customer who is requesting for the transmission ofthe content (the account number of the customer), the sale price and therental charges for the content data, and the bank account number of theagency.

[0881] As a result, the data providing server 703 generates accountinginformation on the sale and the rental of the content data, and sendsthe above generated accounting information to a settlement processingserver on the Internet 707. In the above settlement-processing server,electronic settlement processing based on that accounting information isexecuted.

[0882] Accordingly, the portable dedicated terminal 910 enables the userto obtain content data and pay for the above content data and the rentalcharge for the content data at home, without going to the agency.

[0883] According to the above configuration, in this data providingsystem 900, the character input key group 914 having the ten-keyarrangement is provided in the portable dedicated terminal 910. Thereby,the customer can selectively specify content to be obtained, by enteringthe bar code number previously allotted to the content with the abovecharacter input key group 914.

[0884] Furthermore, in this data providing system 900, the camera 925 isprovided in the portable dedicated terminal 910. Thereby, the image ofthe bar code previously allotted to content can be picked up by theabove camera 925, so that the customer can selectively specify thecontent to be obtained.

[0885] Accordingly, in this data providing system 900, when the customerselectively specifies content to be obtained in the portable dedicatedterminal 910, the customer can easily and selectively specify desiredcontent only by simply entering the number or picking up the image ofthe bar code by the camera 925, without entering plural characters suchas the title of the above content or the like.

[0886] According to the above configuration, the portable dedicatedterminal 910 provided with the character input key group 914 having theten-key arrangement and the camera 925 for pattern recognition is used.Thereby, in the portable dedicated terminal 910, in addition to theeffects obtained in the aforementioned ninth embodiment, the customercan easily and selectively specify desired content by simply enteringthe numerals with the character input key group 914 or only by pickingup the image of the bar code by the camera 925. Thereby, a dataproviding system in that the portable dedicated terminal offers improvedusability and is easier to use can be realized.

[0887] Note that, in the aforementioned tenth embodiment, in theportable dedicated terminal 910, the main CPU 940 of the terminal body911 executes similar processing to the recording control part 81, thereproduction control part 84 and the request data generating part 86described above with reference to FIG. 4, the request data generatingpart 241, the recording control part 245 and the reproduction controlpart 248 described above with reference to FIG. 11, the request datagenerating part 270 described above with reference to FIG. 25, thereproduction control part 342, the request data generating part 344 andthe recording control part 347 described above with reference to FIG.28, the operational information judging part 541, the request datagenerating part 542, the judging part 545, the recording control part546 and the reproduction control part 548 described above with referenceto FIG. 38, and the request data generating part 630 described abovewith reference to FIG. 45, according to the various programs previouslystored in the memory for system 943. This invention, however, is notlimited to this and these various processing may be executed byinstalling a program storage medium storing these various programs inthe terminal body 911.

[0888] In this connection, such program storage medium for installingthe various programs to execute the aforementioned various processing inthe terminal body 911 of the portable dedicated terminal 910 to makethem executable is not only limited to packaged media such as a flexibledisk, a CD-ROM or a DVD, but also may be a semiconductor memory, amagnetic disk, etc., in that the various programs can be temporarily orpermanently stored. Furthermore, as a means for storing the variousprograms in these program storage media, also a cable or a radiocommunication medium such as a local area network, the Internet anddigital satellite broadcasting may be used, and they may be stored viavarious communication interfaces such as a rooter and a modem.

[0889] In the aforementioned tenth embodiment, the portable dedicatedterminal 910 can communicate only with the specified communication partypreviously permitted communications, based on the identification code.This invention, however, is not limited to this and, after the userstarts to use the portable dedicated terminal 910, the customer maynewly contract with an agency or the like and obtain an identificationcode unique to the agency so that the user can communicate with pluralagencies or the like with one portable dedicated terminal 910. Thereby,for instance, it is unnecessary to prepare a portable dedicated terminal910 for each agency, and one portable dedicated terminal 910 can be usedas a common dedicated terminal for the plural agencies and so on. Thus,the usability of the portable dedicated terminal 910 can be furtherimproved.

[0890] In the aforementioned tenth embodiment, the terminal body 911 ofthe portable dedicated terminal 910 works by battery voltage suppliedfrom the detachable battery pack 926. This invention, however, is notlimited to this and the terminal body 911 of the portable dedicatedterminal 910 may work by mounting: an exchangeable primary batterytherein, or the terminal body 911 may work either of the battery packand the primary battery. Thereby, the customer can easily exchange theprimary battery when the customer is going out, and can use the portablededicated terminal 910 for a longer time.

[0891] Furthermore, in the aforementioned tenth embodiment, the dataproviding server 703 generates accounting information every time whenthe data providing server 703 receives content transmission requestdata, and electronic settlement processing based on that accountinginformation is executed in the settlement processing server. Thisinvention, however, is not limited to this and the data providing server703 or the system management server 701 may constantly and collectivelygenerate accounting information, for example, once a month, once twoweeks or the like, or may integrate accounting information generatedevery time when the data providing server 703 received transmissionrequest data, and settlement processing may be executed in thesettlement processing server at the constant timing.

(12) ELEVENTH EMBODIMENT

[0892]FIG. 63 shows a data providing system 1000 according to aneleventh embodiment. A request terminal 1002 corresponding to thecustomer 3 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 (that is, therequest terminal used by the customer), and a portable dedicatedterminal 1003 that corresponds to the portable dedicated terminals 7A to7N described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, is only for theagencies 4A to 4N and is accessible only to a data providing server 1001are connected to the data providing server 1001 corresponding to theagencies 4A to 4N described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, viathe Internet (not shown).

[0893] The data providing server 1601 has a customer database 1010 forstoring customer registration information and customer registrationscreen data, and a content database 1011 for storing a lot of contentdata and content selection screen data.

[0894] When registration request data to request a customer registrationis sent from the request terminal 1002, the data providing server 1001receives this by a receiving part 1012 and takes this in the updatingpart 1013, reads customer registration screen data from the customerdatabase 1010 based on the registration request data by the aboveupdating part 1013, and sends the above read customer registrationscreen data from a sending part 1014 to the request terminal 1002.

[0895] As a result, when customer information that the customer enteredon the customer registration screen based on the customer registrationscreen data is sent from the request terminal 1002, the data providingserver 1001 receives this by the receiving part 1012 and takes this inthe updating part 1013, issues a customer ID to the customer requestingthe registration and adds this to the customer information by the aboveupdating part 1013, and stores them in the customer database 1010 ascustomer registration information, so as to register the customer.

[0896] In this connection, when registering the customer by the updatingpart 1013, the data providing server 1001 generates registrationcompletion data including the customer ID and sends this from thesending part 1014 to the request terminal 1002.

[0897] In this manner, the data providing server 1001 notifies thecustomer of the completion of the registration and the customer ID viathe request terminal 1002.

[0898] When transmission request data to request the transmission ofcontent data is sent from the request terminal 1002, the data providingserver 1001 receives this by the receiving part 1012 and takes this in asearch part 1015.

[0899] The data providing server 1001 reads content selection screendata from the content database 1011 based on the transmission requestdata by the search part 1015, and sends the above read content selectionscreen data from the sending part 1014 to the request terminal 1002.

[0900] As a result, when the customer enters reservation information onthe content selection screen based on content selection screen data andreservation data representing the above reservation information is sentfrom the request terminal 1002, the data providing server 1001 receivesthis by the receiving part 1012 and takes this in the search part 1015.

[0901] The data providing server 1001 reads content data specified bythe reservation data from the content database 1011 based on thatreservation data by the search part 1015, and sends the above readcontent data for recording from a dedicated terminal, not shown, to aportable dedicated terminal (not shown), directly connected to the abovededicated terminal via a cable or the like, before it is delivered tothe customer.

[0902] In this manner, the data providing server 1001 accepts an advancereservation of the purchase or the rental of the content data and theportable dedicated terminal 1003 from the customer, and prepares them byrecording the above content data to be bought or rented in the portablededicated terminal. 1003 that will be bought or rented as well. Thus,when the customer comes to an agency having the above data providingserver 1001 installed therein, that portable dedicated terminal 1003 ishanded to the customer for sale or rental.

[0903] Then, when transmission request data for content data (buy orrent) is sent from the portable dedicated terminal 1003 that thecustomer bought or rented, via the Internet, the data providing server1001 receives this by the receiving part 1012 and takes this in thesearch part 1015.

[0904] At this time, the data providing server 1001 reads the contentselection screen data from the content database 1011 based on thattransmission request data by the search part 1015, and sends the aboveread content selection screen data from the sending part 1014 to theportable dedicated terminal 1003 of the customer.

[0905] As a result, when content data specifying information is enteredon the content selection screen based on the content selection screendata and content specifying data representing the above specifyinginformation is sent from the portable dedicated terminal 1003, the dataproviding server 1001 receives this by the receiving part 1012 and takesthis in the search part 1015.

[0906] The data providing server 1001 reads the specified content datafrom the content database 1011 based on that content specifying data bythe search part 1015, and sends the above read content data from thesending part 1014 to the portable dedicated terminal 1003 according tothe TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) forrecording therein.

[0907] In this manner, the data providing server 1001 can sell and rentdesired content data to the customer using the portable dedicatedterminal 1003.

[0908] On the other hand, if the customer enters a customer registrationrequest via an operating part 1020, the request terminal 1002 generatesregistration request data representing the registration request by arequest data generating part 1021, and sends this from a sending part1022 to the data providing server 1001.

[0909] As a result, when the request terminal 1002 receives customerregistration screen data from the data providing server 1001 by areceiving part 1023, the request terminal 1002 sends this from a displaycontrol part 1024 to a display part 1025 to display a customerregistration screen based on that customer registration screen data onthe above display part 1025.

[0910] Then, when the customer enters customer information on thecustomer registration screen by operating the operating part 1020, therequest terminal 1002 generates customer information data by the requestdata generating part 1021, and sends this from the sending part 1022 tothe data providing server 1001 and makes the data providing server 1001execute the customer registration.

[0911] In this connection, when registration completion data is sentfrom the data providing server 1001 as the result of the customerregistration, the request terminal 1002 receives this by the receivingpart 1023, and then transmits this from the display control part 1024 tothe display part 1025 to notify the customer of the completion ofcustomer registration and the customer ID via the above display part1025.

[0912] Furthermore, when the customer enters content data transmissionrequest via the operating part 1020, the request terminal 1002 generatestransmission request data representing that transmission request by therequest data generating part 1021, and sends the above generatedtransmission request data from the sending part 1022 to the dataproviding server 1001.

[0913] As a result, when the request terminal 1002 receives contentselection screen data from the data providing server 1001 bythe,receiving part 1023, the request terminal 1002 transmits this fromthe display control part 1024 to the display part 1025, to display acontent selection screen based on the content selection screen data onthe above display part 1025.

[0914] Then, when the customer enters reservation information on thecontent selection screen by operating the operating part 1020, therequest terminal 1002 generates reservation data by the request datagenerating part 1021, and sends this from the sending part 1022 to thedata providing server 1001. Thereby, the customer finishes the advancereservation for the purchase or the rental of the content data and theportable dedicated terminal 1003.

[0915] By the way, if a reproduction command is entered via an operatingpart 1041, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 sold or rented to thecustomer in the state where the content data has been recorded in theinternal recording medium 1040 reproduces the content data that thecustomer previously bought or rented from the recording medium 1040 by areproduction control part 1042, and transmits the above reproducedcontent data to a reproducing part 1043 that is composed of a displaycontrol part, a display part, a speaker, etc, so that the customer canenjoy the content.

[0916] When the customer enters a content data transmission request viathe operating part 1041, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 generatestransmission request data representing that transmission request by arequest data generating part 1044, and sends this from a sending part1045 to the data providing server 1001.

[0917] As a result, when the portable dedicated terminal 1003 receivesthe content selection screen data from the data providing server 1001 bya receiving part 1046, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 transmitsthis to the reproducing part 1043 to display a content selection screenbased on the content selection screen data.

[0918] Then, when content specifying information is entered on thecontent selection screen according to the operations of the operatingpart 1041, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 generates contentspecifying data representing that specifying information by the requestdata generating part 1044, and sends this from the sending part 1045 tothe data providing server 1001.

[0919] Thereby, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 receives thecontent data from the data providing server 1001 by the receiving part1046, and records this on the recording medium 1040 by a recordingcontrol part 1047.

[0920] In this manner, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 can obtain(buy or rent) the content data from the data providing server 1001 viathe Internet, and can reproduce this from the recording medium 1040similarly to the aforementioned content data obtained by the advancereservation.

[0921] By the way, when creating the content database 1011 by obtaininga lot of content data from a content server (not shown) that is aprovider of the content data and corresponds to the system managementsite described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, the data providingserver 1001 obtains a specified development tool to form a contentselection screen from the above content server.

[0922] The data providing server 1001 represents the inside of an agencyby three-dimensional images (hereinafter, these are especially referredto as three-dimensional virtual reality space images) with thatdevelopment tool to generate content selection screen data by that thecustomer can select content data as if the customer practically walksaround in the shop of the agency and selects packaged media from a shelfby the above three-dimensional virtual reality space images, and storesthe above generated content selection screen data in the contentdatabase 1011.

[0923] In this connection, the data providing server 1001 generates thecontent selection screen data by almost faithfully reproducing shelvesin the shop of the agency, checkout counters, the position of stairs,the arrangement of packaged media in the above shelves, and the like, bythe three-dimensional virtual reality space images.

[0924] In the data providing server 1001; the same content data as thecontent data in a lot of packaged media that are practically sold andrented at the agency have been stored in the content database 1011,corresponding to the three-dimensional virtual reality space imagesforming the content selection screen data.

[0925] Furthermore, the data providing server 1001 updates the contentselection screen data constantly or at arbitrary timing, bysynchronizing with the time when new packaged media are put on theshelves in the agency (that is, it is also the time when new contentdata are obtained from the content server), the time when the inside ofthe agency is remodeled, or the like.

[0926] Thereby, the data providing server 1001 provides the customerselecting content data on the content selection screen with the feelingas if the customer is practically selecting packaged media in the shopof the agency.

[0927] Practically, as shown in FIG. 64, the content selection screendata is composed of plural image data in that a selection confirmationimage 1055 being a two-dimensional image used to confirm content datathat the customer selected is added to the three-dimensional virtualreality space images such as an image of exterior of shop 1050representing the exterior (entrance) of the agency, an image of firstfloor 1051 and an image of second floor 1052 representing each floor ofthe shop, an image of shelf 1053 represented by enlarging a plurality ofshelves having packaged media arranged thereon for each genre in theshop, and a content selection image 1054 that shows the enlargedbackbones of the packaged media on a shelf so that the customer canselect content data.

[0928] In this case, in the image of exterior of shop 1050, an enteringbutton 1060 to enter the shop and switch the display to the image offirst floor 1051 is provided.

[0929] In the image of first floor 1051 and the image of second floor1052, movement buttons 1061 and 1062 to switch the display to the imageof second floor 1052 or the image of first floor 1051 being the otherfloor, a shelf selection button 1063 to select a shelf for each genrelocated in the image of first floor 1051 and the image of second floor1052 and to switch the display to the image of shelf 1053, and acheckout counter button 1064 to switch the display to the selectionconfirmation image 1055 after the customer selects the content data tobuy or rent, are provided.

[0930] In the image of shelf 1053, a detail button 1065 in that packagedmedia are classified by the Japanese alphabet to switch the display tothe content selection image 1054 by the above classified packaged media,is provided.

[0931] In the image of exterior of shop 1050, the image of first floorin shop 1051, the image of second floor in shop 1052 and the contentselection image 1054, the image of a human being representing thecustomer (hereinafter, this is referred to as customer's image) 1066 andthe image of a human being representing a clerk (hereinafter, this isreferred to as clerk's image) 1067 are displayed. By moving the abovecustomer's image 1066 as if it is actually walking in the shop and byoverlapping it on the entering button 1060, the movement buttons 1061and 1062, the shelf selection button 1063, the checkout counter button1064, the backbone of packaged media in the content selection image1054, etc. or approximating it to them and selectively specifying(clicking) any of these buttons, the customer can enter image specifyingcommands previously allocated to the above buttons.

[0932] In addition to this, in the image of shelf in shop 1053 and theselection confirmation image 1055, a cursor to be inversely displayed onthe detail button 1065, a confirmation button 1068, a cancel button1069, etc. (not shown) by respectively overlapping are displayed. Bymoving the above cursor and selectively specifying (clicking) any ofthese buttons, the customer can enter commands allocated to the abovebuttons.

[0933] Specifically, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 that hasreceived content selection image data first displays the image ofexterior of shop 1050 of the content selection screen by the reproducingpart 1043. If the customer moves the customer's image 1066 in the imageof exterior, of shop 1050 by operating the operating part 1041 andselectively specifying the entering button 1060, the portable dedicatedterminal 1003 displays the image of first floor in shop 1051 instead ofthe image of exterior of shop 1050.

[0934] If the customer moves the customer's image 1066 in the image offirst floor in shop 1051 by operating the operating part 1041 andselectively specifying the movement button 1061, the portable dedicatedterminal 1003 displays the image of first floor in shop 1051 instead ofthe above image of first floor in shop 1051.

[0935] In this manner, if the customer moves the customer's image 1066in the image of first floor in shop 1051 or the image of second floor inshop 1052 by operating the operating part 1041 and selectively specifiesone of the shelf selection buttons 1063, the portable dedicated terminal1003 displays the image of shelf in shop 1053 corresponding to the aboveselectively-specified shelf selection button 1063 instead of the imageof first floor in shop 1051 or the image of second floor in shop 1052.

[0936] If the customer moves the cursor on the image of shelf 1053 andselectively specifies one of the detail buttons 1065 by operating theoperating part 1041, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 displays acontent selection image 1054 corresponding to the button instead of theabove image of shelf 1053.

[0937] After the customer moves the customer's image 1066 in the contentselection image 1054 and selectively specified content data as one ofpackaged media by operating the operating part 1041, if the customerselectively specifies the movement button 1061 or 1062, the portablededicated terminal 1003 displays the image of first floor in shop 1051or the image of second floor in shop 1052 again instead of the abovecontent selection image 1054.

[0938] In this manner, for instance, after the customer selectivelyspecifies the desired content data, if the customer moves thecustomer's, image 1066 in the image of second floor in shop 1052 andselectively specifies the checkout counter button 1064, the portablededicated terminal 1003 displays the selection confirmation image 1055instead of the above image of second floor in shop 1052.

[0939] Now, in the selection confirmation image 1055, the title of thecontent data that the customer selected, customer's name, customer ID,password, etc. are displayed. By moving the cursor by operating theoperating part 1041, the customer can enter the rental term or thepurchase of the content data. If the customer enters the above rentalterm or the purchase, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 displays acharge for the rental or the purchase of the content data accordingly.

[0940] If the customer moves the cursor on the selection confirmationimage 1055 and selectively specifies the confirmation button 1068 byoperating the operating part 1041, the portable dedicated terminal 1003generates content specifying data by the request data generating part1044 by using information in the selection confirmation image 1055 asspecifying information, and sends the above generated content specifyingdata from the sending part 1045 to the data providing server 1001.Thereby, the customer can obtain the content data that the customerspecified.

[0941] On the contrary, if the customer moves the cursor on theselection confirmation image 1055 and selectively specifies the cancelbutton 1069 by operating the operating part 1041, the portable dedicatedterminal 1003 displays, for example, the image of first floor in shop1051 instead of the above selection confirmation image 1055. Thereby,the customer can select content data again.

[0942] In this connection, the data quantity of such content selectionscreen data is relatively large. Therefore, when the data providingserver 1001 receives transmission request data from the portablededicated terminal 1003, the data providing server 1001 first sends thedata of the image of exterior of shop 1050 to the above portablededicated terminal 1003 as content selection screen data. Then, when thecustomer selectively specifies the entering button 1060 on the aboveimage of exterior of shop 1050, the data providing server 1001 receivesthat notification and sending the data of the image of first floor inshop 1051 to the portable dedicated terminal 1003. In this manner, thedata providing server 1001 receives a notification and sendscorresponding image data to the portable dedicated terminal 1003, everytime when the switching of the display to another image is specifiedfrom the portable dedicated terminal 1003 by the entering button 1060,the movement buttons 1061 and 1062, etc., on each image forming thecontent selection screen data.

[0943] In addition to this, as shown in FIGS. 65(A) and 65(B), in theimage of first floor 1051 and the image of second floor 1052, anadvertisement view area 1080 is respectively set in front of the shelvesby genre as the customer cannot see this on the image.

[0944] Furthermore, in the advertisement view area 1080 in front of eachshelf, one item of content data selected by the agency for each genrefor its advertisement (that is, the agency recommends) is allocated tothe corresponding shelf.

[0945] When the customer moves the customer's image 1066 in the image offirst floor 1051 or the image of second floor 1052 to the advertisementview area 1080 in front of each shelf by operating the operating part1041, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 generates genre advertisementrequest data representing the advertisement view area 1080 including theabove customer's image 1066 by the request data generating part 1044,and sends this from the sending part 1045 to the data providing server1001.

[0946] At this time, the data providing server 1001 receives the genreadvertisement request data from the portable dedicated terminal 1003 bythe receiving part 1012, and takes this in the search part 1015.

[0947] The data providing server 1001 reads a predetermined part ofcontent data (a part reproducible only for few seconds) that has beenallocated to the advertisement, view area 1080 and that is representedby that genre advertisement request data as commercial data by theretrieving part 1015, and sends this from the sending part 1014 to theportable dedicated terminal 1003 in streaming according to the UDP/IP(User Datagram Protocol/Internet Protocol).

[0948] The portable dedicated terminal 1003 receives the commercial datafrom the data providing server 1001 by the receiving part 1046,transmits this to the reproducing part 1043 temporarily records this ona specified recording medium for buffer provided in the abovereproducing part 1043, and reproduces the commercial data from thatrecording medium and outputs the reproduced commercial data to a displaypart and a speaker.

[0949] When the customer moves the customer's image 1066 to in front ofthe shelf of each genre in the image of first floor 1051 or the image ofsecond floor 1052, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 reproduces, instreaming, content that belong to the genre allocated to the above shelffor several seconds. Thus, the customer views the content that theagency recommends.

[0950] Here, when the portable dedicated terminal 1003 obtains videosuch as a movie based on the commercial data (hereinafter, this isreferred to as commercial video), the portable dedicated terminal 1003displays that commercial video by overlapping this on a part of theimage of first floor 1051 or the image of second floor 1052 by thereproducing part 1043.

[0951] At this time, the customer can move the customer's image 1066 inthe image of first floor 1051 and the image of second floor 1052. Beforethe display of the previously set commercial video for several secondsis finished, if the customer gets out the customer's image 1066 from theabove advertisement view area 1080, the portable dedicated terminal 1003finishes the above display of the commercial video at that time.

[0952] In this connection, also when the portable dedicated terminal1003 obtains sound based on the commercial data (hereinafter, this isreferred to as commercial sound), the customer can move the customer'simage 1066 in the image of first floor 1051 and the image of secondfloor 1052. Before the output of the preset commercial sound for severalseconds is finished, if the customer gets out the customer's image 1066from the advertisement view area 1080, the portable dedicated terminal1003 finishes the above output of the commercial sound at that time.

[0953] In the portable dedicated terminal 1003, the customer who hopesthe viewing of content by genre makes the customer's image 1066 staywithin the advertisement view area 1080 in the image of first floor 1051and the image of second floor 1052 by operating the operating part 1041.Thereby, the customer can view the above content for preset severalseconds.

[0954] On the contrary, in the portable dedicated terminal 1003, if thecustomer who does not hope the viewing of the content by genre moves thecustomer's image 1066 in the image of first floor 1051 and the image ofsecond floor 1052 by detouring the advertisement view area 1080 byoperating the operating part 1041, the customer can avoid the view ofthe above content. Furthermore, even if the customer makes thecustomer's image 1066 enter the advertisement view area 1080, theportable dedicated terminal 1003 make the above customer's image 1066speedily get out of the advertisement view area 1080. Thereby, thecustomer can avoid the view of the above content.

[0955] As shown in FIG. 66, in the image of shelf 1053, an enlargingbutton 1081 is provided for each frame by that packaged media have beenclassified by the Japanese alphabet.

[0956] If the customer moves the cursor on the image of shelf 1053 byoperating the operating part 1041 and selectively specifies (clicks) oneof the enlarging buttons 1081, the portable dedicated terminal 1003takes in a commercial content specifying image 1082 that forms a contentselection screen and corresponds to the selectively specified enlargingbutton 1081 from the data providing server 1001, and displays thisinstead of the image of shelf 1053.

[0957] In this case, the commercial content specifying image 1082displays, for example, a list of the names of artists classified by theJapanese alphabet, and a cursor to inversely display the letters of thename of an artist (not shown). One item of content data such as a newsong or a hit song that the agency selected for its advertisement foreach artist (that is, the agency recommends) is allocated to the name ofeach artist.

[0958] Therefore, when the customer moves the cursor on the commercialcontent specifying image 1082 and selectively specifies the name of anartist of that the advertisement is hoped by operating the operatingpart 1041, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 generates individualadvertisement request data representing the above selectively specifiedartist's name by the request data generating part 1044, and sends thisfrom the sending part 1045 to the data providing server 1001.

[0959] At this time, the data providing server 1001 receives theindividual advertisement request data from the portable dedicatedterminal 1003 by the receiving part 1012, and takes this in the searchpart 1015.

[0960] The data providing server 1001 reads a predetermined part of thecontent data (a part reproducible only for several seconds) allocated tothe artist's name represented by that individual advertisement requestdata as commercial data by the search part 1015, and sends the aboveread commercial data in streaming from the sending part 1014 to theportable dedicated terminal 1003 according to the UDP/IP.

[0961] The portable dedicated terminal 1003 receives the commercial datafrom the data providing server 1001 by the receiving part 1046 andtransmits this to the reproducing part 1043, temporarily records this onthe recording medium for buffering the above reproducing part 1043, andreproduces the commercial data from that recording medium and outputsthis to the display part and the speaker.

[0962] Thereby, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 displays video foradvertisement 1083 based on the commercial data reproduced in streaming(for example, music video) for several seconds, instead of thecommercial content specifying image 1082, and also outputs music foradvertisement based on the above commercial data for the same time asthe video for advertisement. Thus, the customer views the new song, thehit song, etc., of the desired artist, that the agency recommends.

[0963] In this connection, when the display of the video foradvertisement is finished, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 displaysthe commercial content specifying image 1082 again by the reproducingpart 1043.

[0964] In this commercial content specifying image 1082, a shelf button1084 is provided.

[0965] When the customer moves the cursor on the commercial contentspecifying image 1082.and selectively specifies a shelf button 1084 byoperating the operating part 1041, the portable dedicated terminal 1003displays the image of shelf 1053 corresponding to the button, instead ofthe above commercial content specifying image 1082.

[0966] Thereby, the customer can selectively specify an artist of whichthe advertisement the customer wants to view again, with the portablededicated terminal 1003, after the customer practically views the newsong, the hit song, etc., of the above selectively specified the artist,the customer can selectively specify the content data for purchase orfor rental.

[0967] In this manner, in the portable dedicated terminal 1003, when thecustomer moves the customer's image 1066 within the image of first floor1051 and the image of second floor 1052 represented by thethree-dimensional virtual reality space, the customer can obtain apredetermined part of the content data of a movie, a book, a game, etc,as commercial data, and can view these movie, book, game, etc., forseveral seconds, similarly to the aforementioned case where the customerviews a part of the new song and the hit song of the artist.

[0968] Note that, in the eleventh embodiment as described above, thedata providing server 1001 divides the content selection screen datainto each image data and sequentially sends them to the portablededicated terminal 1003, and also sends the commercial data in thestreaming form. Thereby, the capacity of the recording medium 1040 inthe above portable dedicated terminal 1003 can be prevented frombecoming large.

[0969] When the portable dedicated terminal 1003 takes in the commercialdata, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 starts the reproducing of thevideo for advertisement and the sound for advertisement based on theabove commercial data by performing fade-in processing, and finishes thereproducing by performing fade-out processing.

[0970] Therefore, in the portable dedicated terminal 1003, the contentthat the agency recommends can be shown to the customer softly with theeyes and the ears of the above customer, without suddenly emitting it ata large volume and with high brightness. At the same time, when thecustomer moved the customer's image 1066 in the image of first floor1051 and the image of second floor 1052 over a plurality ofadvertisement view areas 1080, the above content that the agencyrecommends can be shown to the customer according to that, by clearlyshowing partitions among the successively reproduced video foradvertisement and the music for advertisement.

[0971] In this connection, when reproducing the commercial data instreaming, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 monitors the position ofthe customer's image 1066 in the image of first floor 1051 and the imageof second floor 1052, and performs fade-in processing and fade-outprocessing to the video for advertisement and the sound foradvertisement by a predetermined software for video/audio processingaccording to the above monitored result and the data quantity of thecommercial data.

[0972] In the portable dedicated terminal 1003, the fade-in processingand the fade-out processing of video for advertisement and of sound foradvertisement can be easily executed by using such software forvide/audio processing.

[0973] Furthermore, also when the data providing server 1001 receivestransmission request data from the request terminal 1002, the dataproviding server 1001 sends content selection screen, data composed ofthe data of each image described above with reference to FIGS. 64 and 66to the above request terminal 1002.

[0974] Thereby, in the data providing server 1001, also when thecustomer reserves in advance the purchase or the rental of content datawith the request terminal 1002, content that the agency recommends canbe shown to the customer.

[0975] Now, a content providing processing procedure using the contentselection screen data by the data providing server 1001 and the portablededicated terminal 1003 in the data providing system 1000 will becollectively described. As shown in FIG. 67(A), first, the portablededicated terminal 1003 enters routine RT40 from the starting step, andproceeds to step SP501.

[0976] In step SP501, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 waits for thecustomer to enter a transmission request by operating the operating part1041. When the above transmission request is entered, the portablededicated terminal 1003 proceeds to step SP502.

[0977] In step SP502, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 generatestransmission request data by the request data generating part 1044 andsends this from the sending part 1045 to the data providing server 1001,and proceeds to step SP503.

[0978] Now, as shown in FIG. 67(B), the data providing server 1001enters routine RT41 from the starting step, and proceeds to step SP511.In step SP511, the data providing server 1001 waits the time to updatecontent selection screen data. When the update time comes, the dataproviding server 1001 proceeds to step SP512 to update the contentselection screen data, and proceeds to step SP513.

[0979] In step SP513, the data providing server 1001 wait fortransmission request data to be sent from the portable dedicatedterminal 1003. When the data providing server 1001 receives thetransmission request data by the receiving part 1012, the data providingserver 1001 proceeds to step SP514 to read the content selection screendata from the content database 1011 by the search part 1015 and sendsthis from the sending part 1014 to the portable dedicated terminal 1003,and proceeds to step SP515.

[0980] At this time, in step SP503, the portable dedicated terminal 1003waits for content selection screen data to be sent from the dataproviding server 1001. When the portable dedicated terminal 1003receives the content selection screen data by the receiving part 1046,the portable dedicated terminal 1003 transmits that content selectionscreen data to the reproducing part 1043 to display the image ofexterior of shop 1050 being the content selection screen, and thenproceeds to step SP504.

[0981] In step SP504, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 starts asubroutine described later. When specifying information is entered oneach image forming the content selection screen by customer's operationsof the operating part 1041, the portable dedicated terminal 1003proceeds to step SP505.

[0982] In step SP505, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 generatescontent specifying data by the request data generating part 1044 andsends this from the sending part 1045 to the data providing server 1001,and proceeds to step SP506.

[0983] At this time, in step SP515, the data providing server 1001starts a subroutine described later. The data providing server 1001properly reads each image data forming content selection screen data andcommercial data from the content database 1011 by the search part 1015,and sends this from the sending part 1014 to the portable dedicatedterminal 1003. Then, when the data providing server 1001 receivescontent specifying data from the above portable dedicated terminal 1003,the data providing server 1001 proceeds to step SP516.

[0984] In step SP516, the data providing server 1001 searches thecontent database 1011 based on the content specifying data by the searchpart 1015 to read the specified content data, and proceeds to stepSP517.

[0985] In step SP517, the data providing server 1001 sends the contentdata read from the content database 1011, from the sending part 1014 tothe portable dedicated terminal 1003, and then proceeds to step SP518 tofinish the above processing by the data providing server 1001.

[0986] On the other hand, in step SP506, the portable dedicated terminal1003 wait for the content data to be sent from the data providing server1001. When the portable dedicated terminal 1003 receives the abovecontent data, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 proceeds to stepSP507 to record that content data on the recording medium,1040 by therecording control part 1047. Then, the portable dedicated terminal 1003proceeds to step SP508 to finish the above processing by the portablededicated terminal 1003.

[0987] Thus, the data providing server 1001 finishes all the contentproviding processing procedure with the content selection screen data.

[0988] In this connection, as shown in FIG. 68(A), the portablededicated terminal 1003 starts a subroutine in step SP504 and entersstep SP521. In the above step SP521 and the next step SP522, theportable dedicated terminal 1003 wait for an image specifying command tobe entered on each image such as the image of exterior of shop 1050,forming the content selection screen displayed by the reproducing part1043, described above with reference to FIGS. 64 and 66 according to theoperation of the operating part 1041 (that is, that the entry to shopbutton 1060 or the like is selectively specified), and that anadvertisement request is entered on the above image (the image of firstfloor in shop 1051 etc.).

[0989] In step SP521, when the customer moves the customer's image 1066and selectively specifies the entry to shop button 1060 or the like inthe image of exterior of shop 1050 or the like and enters the imagespecifying command by operating the operating part 1041, the portablededicated terminal 1003 proceeds to step SP523 to generate image requestdata representing an image specifying command that has been previouslyallocated to the above selectively specified button by the request datagenerating part 1044, and sends this from the sending part 1045 to thedata providing server 1001, and proceeds to step SP524.

[0990] At this time, as shown in FIG. 68(B), the data providing server1001 starts a subroutine in step SP515 and enters step SP541. In theabove step SP541 and the next step SP542, the data providing server 1001awaits that image request data, advertisement-by-genre request data orindividual advertisement request data are sent from the portablededicated terminal 1003. In that step SP541, when the data providingserver 1001 receives the image request data from the portable dedicatedterminal 1003 by the receiving part 1012, it proceeds to step SP543.

[0991] In step SP543, the data providing server 1001 searches thecontent database 1011 based on the image request data by the search part1015 and reads the: specified image data, and sends this from thesending part 1014 to the portable dedicated terminal 1003, and proceedsto step SP544.

[0992] At this time, in step SP524, the portable dedicated terminal 1003waits for the image data to be sent from the data providing server 1001.When the portable dedicated terminal 1003 receives the image data by thereceiving part 1046, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 proceeds tostep SP525.

[0993] In step SP525, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 transmits thereceived image data to the reproducing part 1043 to display a new imagebased on the received image data instead of the image of the contentselection screen being displayed at present. Then, the portablededicated terminal 1003 proceeds to step SP526 to determine whether ornot the confirmation button 1068 was selectively specified on theselection confirmation image 1055.

[0994] Obtaining a negative result in this step SP526 means that theselection confirmation image 1055 has not been displayed yet by thereproducing part 1043 or that although the above selection confirmationimage 1055 has been displayed, the confirmation button 1068 has not beenselectively specified because it is in the middle of entering to specifythe purchase or the rental of the content data. At this time, theportable dedicated terminal 1003 returns to step SP521.

[0995] In step SP522, if the customer moves the customer's image 1066 tothe advertisement view area 1080 in the image of first floor in shop1051 or the image of second floor by operating the operating part 1041,the portable dedicated terminal 1003 proceeds to step SP527 to generateadvertisement-by-genre request data representing the advertisement viewarea 1080 that the customer's image 1066 entered by the request datagenerating part 1044, and sends this from the sending part 1045 to thedata providing server 1001, and proceeds to step SP528.

[0996] Furthermore, in step SP522, also when the customer selectivelyspecifies the name of an artist, the title of content or the like, thatthe customer wants to see the advertisement, on the commercial contentspecifying image 1082 by operating the operating part 1041, the portablededicated terminal 1003 generates individual advertisement request datarepresenting the above selectively-specified name of the artist, thetitle of the content or the like by the request data generating part1044, and sends this from the sending part 1045 to the data providingserver 1001, and then proceeds to step SP528.

[0997] At this time, in step SP542, the data providing server 1001 waitsthat the advertisement-by-genre request data or the individualadvertisement request data to be sent from the portable dedicatedterminal 1003. When the data providing server 1001 receives theadvertisement-by-genre request data or the individual advertisementrequest data by the receiving part 1012, the data providing server 1001proceeds to step SP545.

[0998] In step SP545, the data providing server 1001 searches thecontent database 1011 based on the advertisement-by-genre request dataor the individual advertisement request data by the search part 1015 toread thus specified commercial data, and sends this from the sendingpart 1014 to the portable dedicated terminal 1003, and then proceeds tostep SP544.

[0999] In step SP544, the data providing server 1001 determines whetheror not the data providing server 1001 received content specifying datafrom the, portable dedicated terminal 1003, and sequentially repeats theprocessing loop of steps SP541-SP542-SP543-SP544-SP545 until receivingthe content specifying data, and sends the image data and the commercialdata according to the image request data, the advertisement-by-genrerequest data and the individual advertisement request data sent from theportable dedicated terminal 1003.

[1000] Then, in step SP544, when the data providing server 1001 receivesthe content specifying data, the data providing server 1001 leaves thissubroutine and proceeds to step SP516 in the processing procedure in thedata providing server 1001 described above with reference to FIG. 67(B).

[1001] On the other hand, in step SP528, the portable dedicated terminal1003 waits for commercial data to be sent from the data providing server1001. When the portable dedicated terminal 1003 receives the commercialdata by the receiving part 1046, the portable dedicated terminal 1003proceeds to step SP529 to transmit that commercial data to thereproducing part 1043. Thus, the customer views a part of content basedon the commercial data and the above content is advertised to thecustomer. Then, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 proceeds to stepSP526.

[1002] Until obtaining an affirmative result in step SP526, the portablededicated terminal 1003 returns to step SP521 and sequentially repeatsthe processing loop of the above stepsSP521-SP522-SP523-SP524-SP525-SP526-SP527-SP528-SP529. Thus, theportable dedicated terminal 1003 makes the customer select desiredcontent data by displaying each image of the content selection screenwhile properly switching the display with mixing the advertisement ofcontent by the reproducing part 1043.

[1003] Then, in step SP526, when confirming that the confirmation button1068 has been selectively specified on the selection confirmation image1055 of the content selection screen, the portable dedicated terminal1003 leaves this subroutine and proceeds to step SP505 of the processingprocedure in the portable dedicated terminal 1003 described above withreference to FIG. 67(A).

[1004] According to the above configuration, in this data providingsystem 1000, when the data providing server 1001 receives transmissionrequest data from the portable dedicated terminal 1003, the dataproviding server 1001 sends content selection screen data havingthree-dimensional virtual reality space images that reproduce the insideof the shop of the agency as graphic images to the above portablededicated terminal 1003 responding to that.

[1005] In this data providing system 1000, if the customer moves thecustomer's image 1066 to the advertisement view area 1080 in the imageof first floor 1051 or the image of second floor 1052 based on thecontent selection screen data by operating the operating part 1041, theportable dedicated terminal 1003 sends advertisement-by-genre requestdata to the data providing server 1001.

[1006] As a result, in this data providing system 1000, a specified partof content data allocated to the advertisement view area 1080represented by the advertisement-by-genre request data is sent from thedata providing server 1001 to the portable dedicated terminal 1003 ascommercial data. In the portable dedicated terminal 1003, the commercialdata is reproduced in streaming, so that the customer views the part ofthe content as advertisement.

[1007] Thus, in this data providing system 1000, the title list ofobtainable content data is not simply shown to the customer using theportable dedicated terminal 1003 but the customer can practically viewor listen to a part of content.

[1008] Therefore, in the data providing system 1000, before obtainingcontent, the customer can confirm the contents of the content based onthe content data, and can accurately judge whether or not the contentmeets his/her own taste.

[1009] Then, in this data providing system 1000, when the customer movesthe customer's image 1066 to in front of a shelf by genre in thethree-dimensional virtual reality space image for selecting content, theportable dedicated terminal 1003 makes the customer view a part ofcontent that belongs to the genre of that shelf as advertisement.Therefore, the customer can select packaged media while confirming thecontents of the content as if the customer practically is in the shop ofthe agency. Thus, the customer can select content while enjoying thecontent data.

[1010] In this connection, in this data providing system 1000, even ifthe customer moves the customer's image 1066 in the three-dimensionalvirtual reality space image, if the customer moves the above customer'simage 1066 as detouring around the advertisement view area 1080 in frontof a shelf, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 does not reproduce instreaming commercial data. And even if the customer moves the customer'simage 1066 to the advertisement view area 1080, if the customerimmediately moved the above customer's image 1066 to the outside of theadvertisement view area 1080, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 stopsto reproduce the commercial data in streaming.

[1011] Accordingly, in this data providing system 1000, it can beprevented that the customer who does not want to see the advertisementof content becomes hard to easily select content data due to theinterruption of that advertisement of content.

[1012] Furthermore, in this data providing system 1000, if the customerselectively specifies the name of an artist, the title of content dataor the like, of which the advertisement the customer wants to see, onthe commercial content specifying image 1082 forming a content selectionscreen by operating the operating part 1041, the portable dedicatedterminal 1003 sends individual advertisement request data to the dataproviding server 1001.

[1013] As a result, in this data providing system 1000, a predeterminedpart of content allocated to the name of the artist, the title of thecontent data or the like, represented by the individual advertisementrequest data is sent from the data providing server 1001 to the portablededicated terminal 1003 as commercial data. In the portable dedicatedterminal 1003, the commercial data is reproduced in streaming, and thecustomer views the part of the content as advertisement.

[1014] Accordingly, in this data providing system 1000, content by genreare not one sidedly advertised to the customer from the data providingserver 1001. The customer can practically listen to and view also a partof the content that the customer requested by showing it foradvertisement.

[1015] Therefore, in the data providing system 1000, before obtainingcontent data, the customer can confirm also the contents of contentbased on the content data that the customer requested.

[1016] According to the above configuration, content selection screendata including three-dimensional virtual reality space images is sentfrom the data providing server 1001 to the portable dedicated terminal1003. When the customer moves the customer's image 1066 to an arbitrarypredetermined area in that three-dimensional virtual reality spaceimages in the above portable dedicated terminal 1003, commercial databeing a part of content data corresponded to the predetermined area issent from the above data providing server 1001 to the portable dedicatedterminal 1003 for reproducing it in streaming. Thereby, the customer canpractically listen to and view the part of the content and can confirmthe contents of the above content. As a result, the customer canaccurately judge whether or not the content meets his/her own taste.Thus, a data providing system that the customer can easily selectcontent data can be accomplished.

[1017] In the portable dedicated terminal 1003, if the customerselectively specifies desired content data on the commercial contentspecifying image 1082 forming a content selection screen, commercialdata being a part of that selectively-specified content data is sentfrom the data providing server 1001 to the portable dedicated terminal1003 for reproducing it in streaming. Thereby, the customer canpractically listen to or view also a part of the content that thecustomer requested, and can confirm the contents of the above content.Thus, a data providing system that the customer can remarkably easilyselect content data can be accomplished.

[1018] Note that, in the aforementioned eleventh embodiment, whencommercial data is reproduced in streaming, video for advertisement andsound for advertisement are subjected to fade-in processing and fade-outprocessing. This invention, however, is not limited to this and when thecommercial data is reproduced in streaming, the video for advertisementand the sound for advertisement may be fixedly reproduced with theoriginal brightness and at the original volume without subjecting themto the fade-in processing and the fade-out processing. Thereby, when theportable dedicated terminal 1003 reproduces commercial data instreaming, processing load on the portable dedicated terminal 1003 canbe reduced.

[1019] In the aforementioned eleventh embodiment, when the customermoves the customer's image 1066 to the advertisement view area 1080 inthe image of first floor 1051 and the image of second floor 1052 beingthree-dimensional virtual reality space images representing the insideof the shop of the agency, commercial data is reproduced in streaming.This invention, however, is not limited to this and by preparing aplurality of three-dimensional virtual reality space images to that oneor a plurality of commercial data have been previously allocatedrespectively, when the portable dedicated terminal 1003 updates thesethree-dimensional virtual reality space images according to theoperation of the operating part 1041.(that is, when the portablededicated terminal 1003 switched the display), the commercial dataallocated to the above displayed three-dimensional virtual reality spaceimage may be reproduced in streaming. Thereby, the same effects as theaforementioned eleventh embodiment can be obtained.

[1020] In the aforementioned eleventh embodiment, one item of contentdata is allocated to each advertisement view area 1080 foradvertisement, and also one item of content data is allocated to eachselection item such as the name of an artist on the commercial contentspecifying image 1082 for advertisement. This invention, however, is notlimited to this and a plurality of content data may be respectivelyallocated to each advertisement view area 1080 and each selection itemfor advertisement. Thereby, the customer can practically listen to orview a part of many content, and can further easily select content data.

[1021] In the aforementioned eleventh embodiment, the data providingserver 1001 generates commercial data from content data according toadvertisement request data, every time when the advertisement requestdata is given from the portable dedicated terminal 1003. This invention,however, is not limited to this and data to be viewed for apredetermined time (about several seconds) that was previously generatedbased on the content data may have been stored in the content database1011 in the data providing server 1001 as commercial data, and the abovedata providing server 1001 may read corresponding commercial data fromthe content database 1011 according to advertisement request data givenfrom the portable dedicated-terminal 1003 and may send this to theportable dedicated terminal 1003. Thereby, processing load on the dataproviding server 1001 in generating commercial data can be reduced.

[1022] In the aforementioned eleventh embodiment, when the customermoves the customer's image 1066 into the advertisement view area 1080 inthe image of first floor 1051 or the image of second floor 152 beingthree-dimensional virtual reality space images representing the insideof the shop of the agency, commercial data is reproduced in streaming.This invention, however, is not limited to this and although thecustomer moves the customer's image 1066 in the image of first floor1051 or the image of second floor 1052, when the above customer's image1066 turns to the front of a shelf by genre (that is, when the eyes ofthe customer's image 1066 are turned to the front of the shelf), thecommercial data may be reproduced in streaming. Thereby, the dataproviding system 1000 can accurately cope with whether or not thecustomer hopes to view the advertisement of the content, similarly tothe aforementioned eleventh embodiment.

[1023] In the aforementioned eleventh embodiment, the content database1011 is provided in the data providing server 1001, and the above dataproviding server 1001 sends the corresponding content data in thecontent database 1011 to the portable dedicated terminal 1003 accordingto content specifying data sent from the portable dedicated terminal1003. This invention, however, is not limited to this and the dataproviding server 1001 may send the corresponding content data forexample from a system management site, to the portable dedicatedterminal 1003, according to the content specifying data sent from theportable dedicated terminal 1003.

[1024] In the aforementioned eleventh embodiment, a content selectionscreen containing three-dimensional virtual reality space images whichfaithfully reproduce the inside of the shop of the agency asthree-dimensional virtual reality space is used to obtain content. Thisinvention, however, is not limited to this and a content selectionscreen containing three-dimensional images which reproduce the inside ofthe agency as simplified three-dimensional space or being thethree-dimensional images, and a content selection screen containingthree-dimensional images that were arbitrary created without concerningwith the inside of the agency or being the three-dimensional images maybe used. Even if using such content selection screen, by providing thecustomer with data for viewing content based on content data (commercialdata), the same effects as the aforementioned eleventh embodiment can beobtained.

[1025] Further, in the aforementioned eleventh embodiment, commercialdata obtained from the data providing server 1001 is reproduced bystreaming. This invention, however, is not limited to this andcommercial data obtained from the data providing server 1001 may berecorded on the storage medium 1040 of the portable dedicated terminal1003, so that the customer can view and preview content by reproducingit at arbitrary timing.

[1026] Furthermore, in the aforementioned eleventh embodiment, the dataproviding server 1001 and the portable dedicated terminal 1003 executethe content providing processing procedure described above withreference to FIGS. 67 and 68. This invention, however, is not limited tothis and programs to execute the content providing processing proceduremay have been previously stored respectively in the data providingserver 1001 and the portable dedicated terminal 1003 and the contentproviding processing procedure may be executed according to theseprograms, or the above content providing processing procedure may beexecuted by installing a program storage medium storing these programsin the data providing server 1001 and the portable dedicated terminal1003.

[1027] In this connection, such program storage medium for installingthe various programs to execute the content providing processingprocedure in the data providing server 1001 and the portable dedicatedterminal 1003 to make them executable is not only limited to packagedmedia such as a flexible disk, a CD-ROM and a DVD, but also may be asemiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, etc., in that the variousprograms can be temporarily or permanently stored. Furthermore, as meansfor storing the various programs in these program storage media, also acable or a radio communication medium such as a local area network, theInternet, digital satellite broadcasting, etc, may be used, and they maybe stored via various communication interfaces such as a rooter and amodem.

(13) OTHER EMBODIMENTS

[1028] Note that, in the aforementioned first to eleventh embodiments,the data providing servers 101 and 151 described above with reference toFIGS. 5 to 10 are applied as content providing apparatuses which providecontent data in this invention. This invention, however, is not limitedto this and content providing apparatuses having other variousconstructions can be widely applied, such as a content providingapparatus constructed by integrating a data providing server and contentserver, provided that they can provide a content obtaining apparatuswith content data in response to customer reservation information givenfrom a prescribed terminal device.

[1029] Further, in the aforementioned first to eleventh embodiments, theportable dedicated terminals 53 and 102 described above with referenceto FIGS. 4 to 10 are applied as content obtaining apparatuses whichobtain content data given from a content providing apparatus in thisinvention. This invention, however, is not limited to this and contentobtaining apparatuses having other various kinds of constructions can bewidely applied, provided that they can obtain content data which isgiven from a content providing apparatus for a reservation from aterminal device.

[1030] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventhembodiments, the data providing systems 100 and 150 described above withreference to FIGS. 5 to 10 are applied as content providing/obtainingsystems of this invention, each composed of a content providingapparatus which provide content data and a content obtaining apparatuswhich obtains content data given from the content providing apparatus.This invention, however, is not limited to this and contentproviding/obtaining systems having other various kinds of constructionscan be widely applied, provided that a content providing apparatus cansend content data to a content obtaining apparatus in response to areservation given from a terminal device in these systems.

[1031] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventhembodiments, the request terminal 103 described above with respect toFIGS. 5 to 10 is applied as a prescribed terminal device. Thisinvention, however, is not limited to this and other various kinds ofterminal devices can be widely applied, such as a personal computer,portable telephone, and PDA (Personal Digital Assistance), provided thatthey can access a content providing apparatus.

[1032] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventhembodiments, the content databases 111, 153, and 154 described abovewith reference to FIGS. 5 to 10 are applied as content data storagemeans for storing a plurality of content data. This invention, however,is not limited to this and other various kinds of content data storagemeans can be widely applied depending on a storage medium to be used,provided that they can store a plurality of content data.

[1033] Still further, in the first to eleventh embodiments, thereceiving part 115 described above with reference to FIGS. 5 to 10 isapplied as a customer reservation information receiving means whichreceives the customer identification information on a customer accessingthe content providing apparatus with a prescribed terminal device andcontent identification information on customer desired content datadesired by the customer, as customer reservation information. Thisinvention, however, is not limited to this and other various kinds ofcustomer reservation information receiving means can be widely applieddepending on a communications method to be applied, provided that theycan receive customer reservation information transmitted from a terminaldevice.

[1034] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventhembodiments, the recording control parts 117 and 157 and content searchpart 162 described above with reference to FIGS. 5 to 10 are applied assearch means for searching content data storage means for customerdesired content data corresponding to the content identificationinformation. This invention, however, is not limited to this and othervarious kinds of search means can be widely applied depending on astorage medium to be used, provided that they can search a content datastorage medium for customer desired content data based on contentidentification information.

[1035] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventhembodiments, the recording control parts 117 and 157 described abovewith reference to FIGS. 5 to 10 are applied as content data sendingmeans for sending customer desired content data found by the searchmeans to the content obtaining apparatus. This invention, however, isnot limited to this and other various kinds of content data sendingmeans can be widely applied, such as a sending means having a wired- orwireless-connection to the content obtaining apparatus, provided thatthey can send customer desired content data to a content obtainingapparatus to provide it to a customer.

[1036] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventhembodiments, the receiving part 80 and sending part 87 connected to theInternet, described above with reference to FIGS. 4 to 10 are applied asinterface means which is accessible to the content providing means only.This invention, however, is not limited to this and interface meansemploying other various kinds of wired- and wireless-communicationsmethod can be widely applied, provided that they can access a contentobtaining apparatus only.

[1037] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventhembodiments, the recording control part 81 described above withreference to FIGS. 4 to 10 is applied as a content data recording meansfor recording customer desired content data received via the interfacemeans from the content providing apparatus, on a storage medium. Thisinvention, however, is not limited to this and other various kinds ofcontent data recording means can be widely applied depending on astorage medium to be used, provided that they can record customerdesired content data on a storage medium.

[1038] Still further, the storage medium 82 built in each of theportable dedicated terminals 53 and 102, described above with referenceto FIGS. 4 to 10, is applied as a storage medium on which customerdesired content data is recorded. This invention, however, is notlimited to this and other various kinds of storage medium can be widelyapplied, such as a storage medium which can be detachably attached to acontent obtaining apparatus.

[1039] Still further, the reproduction control means 84 and reproducingpart 85 described above with reference to FIGS. 4 to 10 are applied asreproducing/outputting means for reproducing and outputting customerdesired content data from a storage medium. This invention, however, isnot limited to this and other various kinds of reproducing/outputtingmeans can be widely applied, provided that they can reproduce and outputcustomer desired content data from a storage medium.

[1040] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventhembodiments, the sending part 118 described above with reference toFIGS. 5 to 10 is applied as a content obtaining apparatus identificationinformation sending means which sends content obtaining apparatusidentification information which is identification information unique tothe content obtaining apparatus, to a prescribed terminal device. Thisinvention, however, is not limited to this and other various kinds ofcontent obtaining apparatus identification information sending means canbe widely applied, provided that they can send content obtainingapparatus identification information to the content obtaining apparatusto notify a customer of a content obtaining apparatus to be sold orrented.

[1041] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventhembodiments, the accounting parts 116 and 156 described above withreference to FIGS. 5 to 10 are applied to as accounting informationgenerating means for generating accounting information according tocustomer identification information and the charge based on the paymentinformation which specifies the method of payment for rental or purchaseof customer desired content data, and sending the generated accountinginformation to the external settlement processing device. Thisinvention, however, is not limited to this and accounting informationgenerating means having other various kinds of constructions can bewidely applied, provided that they can generate accounting informationaccording to customer identification information and charge based on thepayment information which specifies the payment of charge for the rentalor purchase of customer desired content data and sends the generatedaccounting information to an external settlement processing device.

[1042] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventhembodiments, the data providing server 1001 described above withreference to FIGS. 63 to 68 is applied to a content providing apparatusfor providing content data according to this invention. This invention,however, is not limited to this and content providing apparatuses havingother kinds of constructions can be widely applied, such as a personalcomputer, provided that they can provide preview data generated based oncontent data in response to a preview request given from a dataobtaining apparatus.

[1043] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventhembodiments, the portable dedicated terminal 1003 described above withreference to FIGS. 63 to 68 is applied as a content obtaining apparatusfor obtaining content data provided from a content providing apparatusaccording to this invention. This invention, however, is not limited tothis and content obtaining apparatuses having the other various kinds ofconstructions can be widely applied, such as a personal computer, a PDAand a portable telephone, provided that they can request preview contentdata from the content providing apparatus and thus can obtain previewdata sent from the content providing apparatus and reproduce this.

[1044] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventhembodiments, the data providing system 1000 described above withreference to FIGS. 63 to 68 is applied to a content providing/obtainingsystem according to this invention, composed of a content providingapparatus for providing content data and a content obtaining apparatusfor obtaining the content data provided from the above content providingapparatus. This invention, however, is not limited to this and contentproviding/obtaining systems having other various kinds of constructionscan be widely applied, such as a LAN (Local Area Network), a dataproviding/obtaining system constructed with optical communicationtechnology, provided that they are systems in that the content providingapparatus can send preview data generated based on content data to theabove content obtaining apparatus according to a preview request givenfrom the content obtaining apparatus.

[1045] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventhembodiments, as an image storage means for holding three-dimensionalimages to be used to make a customer select desired content data fromamong a plurality of content data, the content database 1011 describedabove with reference to FIGS. 63 to 68 is applied. This invention,however, is not limited to this and, other various kinds ofimage,storage means can be widely applied, such as an optical disc, amagneto-optical disk and a semiconductor memory, provided that they canhold the three-dimensional images to be used to make a customer selectdesired content data from among a plurality of content data.

[1046] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventhembodiments, as a transmission request receiving means for receiving animage request from the content obtaining apparatus, the receiving part1012 described above with reference to FIGS. 63 to 68 is applied. Thisinvention, however, is not limited to this and, other various kinds oftransmission request receiving means can be widely applied depending ona communications method to be used, provided that they can receive animage request sent from a content obtaining apparatus.

[1047] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventhembodiments, as an image sending means for sending three-dimensionalimages to a content obtaining apparatus in response to an image request,the sending part 1014 described above with reference to FIGS. 63 to 68is applied. This invention, however, is not limited to this and, othervarious kinds of image sending means can be widely applied depending ona communications method to be used, provided that they can sendthree-dimensional images to a content obtaining apparatus in response toan image request.

[1048] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventhembodiments, as a preview request receiving means for receiving apreview request sent from a content obtaining apparatus according to thedisplay state of three-dimensional images, the receiving part 1012described above with reference to FIGS. 63 to 68 is applied. Thisinvention, however, is not limited to this and other various kinds ofpreview request receiving means can be widely applied depending on acommunications method to be used, provided that they can receive apreview request sent from a content obtaining apparatus according to thedisplay state of three-dimensional images.

[1049] In the aforementioned first to eleventh embodiments, as a datasending means for sending content preview data based on content datacorresponding to a preview request to a content obtaining apparatus, thesending part 1014 described above with reference to FIGS. 63 to 68 isapplied. This invention, however, is not limited to this and othervarious kinds of data sending means can be widely applied depending on acommunications method to be used, provided that they can send contentpreview data based on content data corresponding to the preview requestto a content obtaining apparatus.

[1050] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventhembodiments, as an input means for entering various operationalcommands, the operating part 1041 described above with reference toFIGS. 63 to 68 is applied. This invention, however, is not limited tothis and, other various kinds of input means can be widely applied, suchas operational keys, a touch panel and a pointing device, provided thatthey can enter various operational commands.

[1051] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventhembodiments, as an image request sending means for sending an imagerequest to a content providing apparatus in response to an image requestcommand entered via an input means, the sending part 1045 describedabove with reference to FIGS. 63 to 68 is applied. This invention,however, is not limited to this and, other various kinds of imagerequest sending means can be widely applied depending on acommunications method to be used, provided that they can send an imagerequest to a content providing apparatus in response to an image requestcommand entered via an input means.

[1052] In the aforementioned first to eleventh embodiments, as an imagereceiving means for receiving three-dimensional images which are sentfrom a content providing apparatus in response to an image request, thereceiving part 1046 described above with reference to FIGS. 63 to 68 isapplied. This invention, however, is not limited to this and, othervarious kinds of image receiving means can be widely applied dependingon a communications method to be used, provided that they can receivethree-dimensional images which are sent from a content providingapparatus in response to an image request.

[1053] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventhembodiments, as a display control means for displaying thethree-dimensional images on a predetermined display means and forchanging the display state of the three-dimensional images according toa displaying-state changing command entered via an input means, thereproducing part 1043 described above with reference to FIGS. 63 to 68is applied. This invention, however, is not limited to this and othervarious kinds of display control means can be widely applied, such as aCPU and a microprocessor, provided that they can displaythree-dimensional images on a predetermined display means and can changethe displaying state of the three-dimensional images according to adisplaying state changing command entered via an input means.

[1054] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventhembodiments, as a display means for displaying the three-dimensionalimages, the reproducing part 1043 described above with reference,toFIGS. 63 to 68 is applied. This invention, however, is not limited tothis and other various kinds of display means can be widely applied,such as a display means which is an external device for the contentobtaining apparatus, provided that they can display three-dimensionalimages.

[1055] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventhembodiments, as a preview request sending means for sending a previewrequest to a content providing apparatus according to the display stateof the three-dimensional images on a display means, the sending part1045 described above with reference to FIGS. 63 to 68 is applied. Thisinvention, however, is not limited to this and, other various kinds ofpreview request sending means can be widely applied depending on acommunications method to be used, provided that they can send a previewrequest to a content providing apparatus according to the display stateof the three-dimensional images on a display means.

[1056] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventhembodiments, as a data receiving means for receiving preview data whichwas sent from a content providing apparatus in response to a previewrequest, the receiving part 1046 described above with reference to FIGS.63 to 68 is applied. This invention, however, is not limited to thisand, other various kinds of receiving means can be widely applieddepending on a communications method to be used, provided that they canreceive preview data which was sent from a content providing apparatusin response to a preview request.

[1057] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventhembodiments, as a reproducing means for reproducing preview data andmaking a customer view the contents of the content, the reproducing part1043 described above with reference to FIGS. 63 to 68 is applied. Thisinvention, however, is not limited to this and, other various kinds ofreproducing means can be widely applied, such as a reproducing meanswhich is an external device for a content obtaining apparatus, providedthat they can reproduce preview data and can make a customer view thecontents of the content.

[1058] Still further, in the aforementioned first to eleventhembodiments, as a recording means for recording preview data received bya data receiving means on a storage means, the storage medium for bufferof the reproducing part 1043 described above with reference, to FIGS. 63to 68 is applied. This invention, however, is not limited and othervarious kinds of storage media can be widely applied, such as thestorage medium 1040 built in the portable dedicated terminal 1003 and astorage medium which can be detachably attached to the portablededicated terminal.

[1059] Industrial Applicability

[1060] This invention can be used in a content providing/obtainingsystem composed of a content server on the Internet, portable dedicatedterminals, personal computers and portable telephones, which areconnectable to the content server via the Internet.

1. A content providing/obtaining system comprising a content providingapparatus for providing content data and a content obtaining apparatusfor obtaining said content data provided from the content providingapparatus, wherein: said content providing apparatus comprises: contentdata storage means for storing a plurality of said content data;customer reservation information receiving means for receiving customeridentification information on a customer accessing the content providingapparatus with a prescribed terminal device and content identificationinformation on customer desired content data desired by said customer,as customer reservation information; search means for searching saidcontent data storage means for said customer desired content datacorresponding to said content identification information, and contentdata sending means for sending said customer desired content data foundby said search means to said content obtaining apparatus; and saidcontent obtaining apparatus comprises: interface means accessible tosaid content providing apparatus only; content data recording means forrecording said customer desired content data received via said interfacemeans from said content providing apparatus, on a storage medium; andreproducing/outputting means for reproducing and outputting saidcustomer desired content data from said storage medium.
 2. The contentproviding/obtaining system according to claim 1, wherein said contentobtaining apparatus is located far away from said prescribed terminaldevice.
 3. The content providing/obtaining system according to claim 2,wherein said content data recording means records said customer desiredcontent data on said storage means built in said content obtainingapparatus.
 4. The content providing/obtaining system according to claim3, wherein said content obtaining apparatus is small enough to carry. 5.The content providing/obtaining system according to claim 1, whereinsaid content providing apparatus comprises content obtaining apparatusidentification information sending means for sending content obtainingapparatus identification information which is identification informationunique to said content obtaining apparatus, to said prescribed terminaldevice.
 6. The content providing/obtaining system according to claim 1,wherein: said customer reservation information receiving means receivessystem specifying information specifying a rental system or purchasesystem by which said customer desired content data is received, as oneitem included in said customer reservation information, from saidterminal device; and said content data sending means sends said customerdesired content data to said content obtaining apparatus by the rentalsystem or purchase system according to said system specifyinginformation.
 7. The content providing/obtaining system according toclaim 6, wherein said content data sending means, when sending saidcustomer desired content data to said content obtaining apparatus bysaid rental system, sends, at least, rental period informationindicating the rental period as well, to said content obtainingapparatus.
 8. The content providing/obtaining system according to claim7, wherein said reproducing/outputting means forbids the reproduction ofsaid customer desired content data from said storage medium if saidrental period of the customer desired content data based on said rentalperiod information expires.
 9. The content providing/obtaining systemaccording to claim 6, wherein: said customer reservation informationreceiving means receives payment information specifying the paymentmethod of charge for said customer desired content data by said rentalsystem or said purchase system, as said customer reservationinformation; and said content providing apparatus comprises accountinginformation generating means for generating accounting informationaccording to said customer identification information and said chargeand sending the generated accounting information to an externalsettlement processing device.
 10. A content providing/obtaining methodfor obtaining content data provided from a content providing apparatuswith a content obtaining apparatus, wherein: said content providingapparatus comprises: the customer reservation information receiving stepof receiving customer identification information on a customer havingaccess with a prescribed terminal device and content identificationinformation on customer desired content data desired by said customer,as customer reservation information; the search step of searchingcontent data storage means; storing a lot of said content data for saidcustomer desired content data corresponding to said contentidentification information; and the content data sending step of sendingsaid customer desired content data found by said search step to saidcontent obtaining apparatus; and said content obtaining apparatuscomprises: the content data recording step of recording said customerdesired content data received from said content providing apparatus viainterface means accessible to said content providing apparatus only, ona storage medium; and the reproducing/outputting step of reproducing andoutputting said customer desired content data from said storage medium.11. The content providing/obtaining method according to claim 10,wherein said content data sending step sends said customer desiredcontent data to said content obtaining apparatus located far from saidprescribed terminal device.
 12. The content providing/obtaining methodaccording to claim 11, wherein said content data recording step recordssaid customer desired content data on said storage medium built in saidcontent obtaining apparatus.
 13. The content providing/obtaining methodaccording to claim 12, wherein said content obtaining apparatus is smallenough to carry.
 14. The content providing/obtaining method according toclaim 10, wherein said content providing apparatus comprises the contentobtaining apparatus identification information sending step of, sendingcontent obtaining apparatus identification information which isidentification information unique to said content obtaining apparatus,to said prescribed terminal device.
 15. The content providing/obtainingmethod according to claim 10, wherein: said customer reservationinformation receiving step receives system specifying informationspecifying a rental system or purchase system by which said customerdesired content data is received, as one item included in said customerreservation information; and said content data sending step sends saidcustomer desired content data to said content obtaining apparatus by therental system or the purchase system according to said system specifyinginformation.
 16. The content providing obtaining method according toclaim 15, wherein said content data sending step, when sending saidcustomer desired content data to said content obtaining apparatus bysaid rental system, sends, at least, rental period informationindicating the rental period as well, to said content obtainingapparatus.
 17. The content providing/obtaining method according to claim16, wherein said reproducing/outputting step forbids the reproduction ofsaid customer desired content data from said storage means if saidrental period of said customer desired content based on said rentalperiod information expires.
 18. The content providing/obtaining methodaccording to claim 15, wherein: said customer reservation informationreceiving step receives payment information indicating the paymentmethod of charge for said customer desired content data by said rentalsystem or said purchase system, as said customer reservationinformation; and said content providing apparatus comprises theaccounting information generating step of generating accountinginformation according to said customer identification information andsaid charge based on said payment information and sending the generatedaccounting information to an external settlement processing device. 19.A content providing apparatus for providing content data to a dedicatedcontent obtaining apparatus only, comprising: content data storage meansfor storing a plurality of said content data; customer reservationinformation receiving means for receiving customer identificationinformation on a customer having access with a prescribed terminaldevice and content identification information on customer desiredcontent data desired by said customer, as customer reservationinformation; search means for searching said content data storage meansfor said customer desired content data corresponding to said contentidentification information; and content data sending means for sendingsaid customer desired content data found by said search means to saidcontent obtaining apparatus.
 20. The content providing apparatusaccording to claim 19, comprising content obtaining apparatusidentification information sending means for sending content obtainingapparatus identification information which is identification informationunique to said content obtaining apparatus, to said prescribed terminaldevice.
 21. The content providing apparatus according to claim 19,wherein: said customer reservation information receiving means receivessystem specifying information specifying a rental system or purchasesystem by which said customer desired content data is received, as oneitem included in said customer reservation information, from saidterminal device; and said content data sending means sends said customerdesired content data to said content obtaining apparatus by the rentalsystem or the purchase system based on said system specifyinginformation.
 22. The content providing apparatus according to claim 21,wherein said content data sending means sends, when sending saidcustomer desired content data to said content obtaining apparatus bysaid rental system, sends, at least, rental period informationindicating the rental period as well, to said content obtainingapparatus.
 23. The content providing apparatus according to claim 21,comprising accounting information generating means for generatingaccounting information according to said customer identificationinformation and said charge based on payment information specifying thepayment method of charge for said customer desired content data by saidrental system or said purchase system and sending the generatedaccounting information to an external settlement processing device,wherein said customer reservation information receiving means receivessaid payment information as said customer reservation information.
 24. Acontent providing method for providing content data to a dedicatedcontent obtaining apparatus only, comprising: the customer reservationinformation receiving step of receiving customer identificationinformation on a customer having access with a prescribed terminaldevice and content identification information on customer desiredcontent data desired by said customer, as customer reservationinformation; the search step of searching content data storage meansstoring a plurality of said content data for said customer desiredcontent data corresponding to said content identification information;and the content data sending step of sending said customer desiredcontent data found by said search step to said content obtainingapparatus.
 25. The content providing method according to claim 24,comprising the content obtaining apparatus identification informationsending step of sending content obtaining apparatus identificationinformation which is identification information unique to said contentobtaining apparatus, to said prescribed terminal device.
 26. The contentproviding method according to claim 24, wherein: said customerreservation information receiving step receives system specifyinginformation specifying a rental system or purchase system by which saidcustomer desired content data is received, as one item included in saidcustomer reservation information from said terminal device; and saidcontent data sending step sends said customer desired content data tosaid content obtaining apparatus by the rental system or the purchasesystem based on said system specifying information.
 27. The contentproviding method according to claim 26, wherein said content datasending step, when sending said customer desired content data to saidcontent obtaining apparatus by said rental system, sends, at least,rental period information indicating the rental period as well, to saidcontent obtaining apparatus.
 28. The content providing method accordingto claim 26, comprising the accounting information generating step ofgenerating accounting information according to said customeridentification information and said charge based on payment informationspecifying the payment method of charge for said customer desiredcontent data by said rental system or said purchase system and sendingthe generated accounting information to an external settlementprocessing device, wherein said customer reservation informationreceiving step receives said payment information as said customerreservation information.
 29. A content providing program storage mediumfor making a content providing apparatus execute a content providingprogram comprising: the customer reservation information receiving stepof receiving customer identification information on a customer havingaccess with a prescribed terminal device and content identificationinformation on customer desired content data desired by said customer,as customer reservation information; the search step of searchingcontent data storage means storing a plurality of content data for saidcustomer desired content data corresponding to said contentidentification information; and the content data sending step of sendingsaid customer desired content data found by said search step, to adedicated content obtaining apparatus.
 30. The content providing programstorage medium according to claim 29, comprising said content obtainingapparatus identification information sending step of sending contentobtaining apparatus identification information which is identificationinformation unique to said content obtaining apparatus, to saidprescribed terminal device.
 31. The content providing program storagemedium according to claim 29, wherein: said customer reservationinformation receiving step receives system specifying informationspecifying a rental system or purchase system by which said customerdesired content data is received, as one item included in said customerreservation information, from said terminal device; and said contentdata sending step sends said customer desired content data to saidcontent obtaining apparatus by the rental system or the purchase systembased on said system specifying information.
 32. The content providingprogram storage medium according to claim 31, wherein said content datasending step sends, when sending said customer desired content data tosaid content obtaining apparatus: by said rental system, sends, atleast, rental period information indicating the rental period as well,to said content obtaining apparatus.
 33. The content providing programstorage medium according to claim 31, comprising accounting informationgenerating step of generating accounting information according to saidcustomer identification information and said charge based on paymentinformation specifying the payment method of charge for said customerdesired content data by said rental system or said purchase system andsending the generated accounting information to an external settlementprocessing device, wherein said customer reservation informationreceiving step receives said payment information as said customerreservation information.
 34. A content providing program for making acontent providing apparatus execute: the customer reservationinformation receiving step of receiving customer identificationinformation on a customer having access with a prescribed terminaldevice and content identification information on customer desiredcontent data desired by said customer, as customer reservationinformation; the search step of searching content data storage meansstoring a plurality of said content data for said customer desiredcontent data corresponding to said content identification information;and the content data sending step of sending said customer desiredcontent data found by said search step to a dedicated content obtainingapparatus.
 35. The content providing program according to claim 34,comprising the content obtaining apparatus identification informationsending step of sending content obtaining apparatus identificationinformation which is identification information unique to, said contentobtaining apparatus, to said prescribed terminal device.
 36. The contentproviding program according to claim 34, wherein: said customerreservation information receiving step receives system specifyinginformation specifying the rental system or the purchase system by whichsaid customer desired content data is received, as one item included insaid customer reservation information from said terminal device; andsaid content data sending step sends said customer desired content datato said content obtaining apparatus by the rental system or the purchasesystem based on said system specifying information.
 37. The contentproviding program according to claim 36, wherein said content datasending step, when sending said customer desired content data to saidcontent obtaining apparatus by said rental system, sends at least rentalperiod information indicating the rental period as well, to said contentobtaining apparatus.
 38. The content providing program according toclaim 36, comprising the accounting information generating step ofgenerating accounting information according to said customeridentification information and said charge based on payment informationspecifying the payment method of charge for said customer desiredcontent data by said rental system or said purchase system and sendingthe generated accounting information to an external settlementprocessing device, wherein said customer reservation informationreceiving step receives said payment information as said customerreservation information.
 39. A content obtaining apparatus for obtainingcontent data provided from a content providing apparatus, comprising:interface means for accessing said content providing apparatus only, toreceive customer desired content data which said content providingapparatus sent based on content identification information as a resultof receiving customer identification information on a customer and saidcontent identification information on customer desired content datadesired by said customer as customer reservation information via aprescribed terminal device; content data recording means for recordingsaid customer desired content data received from said content providingapparatus via said interface means, on a storage medium; andreproducing/outputting means for reproducing and outputting said contentdata from said storage medium.
 40. The content obtaining apparatusaccording to claim 39, wherein said content obtaining apparatus islocated far away from said prescribed terminal device.
 41. The contentobtaining apparatus according to claim 40, wherein said content datarecording means records said customer desired content data on saidstorage means built in the apparatus.
 42. The content obtainingapparatus according to claim 41, wherein said apparatus is small enoughto carry.
 43. The content obtaining apparatus according to claim 39,wherein: said interface means receives rental period informationindicating the rental period of said customer desired content data sentfrom said content providing apparatus, together with the customerdesired content data; and said reproducing/outputting means forbids thereproduction of said customer desired content data from said storagemeans if said rental period of said customer desired content data basedon said rental period information expires.
 44. A content obtainingmethod for obtaining content data provided from a content providingapparatus, comprising: the customer desired content data receiving stepof receiving, via interface means accessible to said content providingapparatus only, said customer desired content data which said contentproviding apparatus sent based on content identification information asa result of receiving customer identification information on a customerand said content identification information on said customer desiredcontent data desired by said customer as customer reservationinformation via said terminal device; the content data recording step ofrecording said customer desired content data received by said customerdesired content data receiving step on a storage medium; and thereproducing/outputting step of reproducing and outputting said contentdata from said storage medium.
 45. The content obtaining methodaccording to claim 44, wherein said customer desired content datareceiving step receives said customer desired content data at a positionfar away from said prescribed terminal device.
 46. The content obtainingmethod according to claim 45, wherein said content data recording steprecords said customer desired content data on said storage means builtin a content obtaining apparatus.
 47. The content obtaining methodaccording to claim 46, wherein customer desired content data receivingstep receives said customer desired content data with said contentobtaining apparatus which is small enough to carry.
 48. The contentobtaining method according to claim 44, wherein: said customer desiredcontent data receiving step receives rental period informationindicating the rental period of said customer desired content data sentfrom said content providing apparatus, together with the customerdesired content data; and said reproducing/outputting step forbids thereproduction of said customer desired content data from said storagemeans if said rental period of said customer desired content data basedon said rental period information expires.
 49. A content obtainingprogram storage medium for making a content obtaining apparatus executea content obtaining program comprising: the customer desired contentdata receiving step of receiving, via interface means accessible to acontent providing apparatus only, customer desired content data whichsaid content providing apparatus sent based on content identificationinformation as a result of receiving customer identification informationon a customer and said content identification information on saidcustomer desired content data desired by said customer as customerreservation information via a prescribed terminal device; the contentdata recording step of recording said customer desired content datareceived by said customer desired content data receiving step, on astorage medium; and the reproducing/outputting step of reproducing andoutputting said content data from said storage medium.
 50. The contentobtaining program storage medium according to claim 49, wherein saidcustomer desired content data receiving step receives said customerdesired content data at a position far away from said prescribedterminal device.
 51. The content obtaining program storage mediumaccording to claim 50, wherein said content data recording step recordssaid customer desired content data on said storage means built in acontent obtaining apparatus.
 52. The content obtaining program storagemedium according to claim 51, wherein said customer desired content datareceiving step receives said customer desired content data with saidcontent obtaining apparatus which is small enough to carry.
 53. Thecontent obtaining program storage medium according to claim 49, wherein:said customer desired content data receiving step receives rental periodinformation indicating the rental period of said customer desiredcontent data sent from said content providing apparatus, together withthe customer desired content data; and said reproducing/outputting meansforbids the reproduction of said customer desired content data from saidstorage means if said rental period of said customer desired contentdata based on said rental period information expires.
 54. A contentobtaining program for making a content obtaining apparatus execute: thecustomer desired content data receiving step of receiving, via interfacemeans accessible to a content providing apparatus only, customer desiredcontent data which said content providing apparatus sent based oncontent identification information as a result of receiving customeridentification information on a customer and said content identificationinformation on said customer desired content data desired by saidcustomer as customer reservation information via said terminal device;the content data recording step of recording said customer desiredcontent data received by said customer desired content data receivingstep on a storage medium; and the reproducing/outputting step ofreproducing and outputting said content data from said storage medium.55. The content obtaining program according to claim 54, wherein saidcustomer desired content data receiving step receives said customerdesired content data at a position far away from said prescribedterminal device.
 56. The content obtaining program according to claim55, wherein said content data recording step records said customerdesired content data on said storage means built in a content obtainingapparatus.
 57. The content obtaining program according to claim 56,wherein customer desired content data receiving step receives saidcustomer desired content data with said content obtaining apparatuswhich is small enough to carry.
 58. The content obtaining programaccording to claim 54, wherein: said customer desired content datareceiving step receives rental period information indicating the rentalperiod of said customer desired content data sent from said contentproviding apparatus, together with the customer desired content data;and said reproducing/outputting step forbids the reproduction of saidcustomer desired content data from said storage means if said rentalperiod of said customer desired content data based on said rental periodinformation expires.
 59. A content providing/obtaining system comprisinga content providing apparatus for providing content data and a contentobtaining apparatus for obtaining said content data provided from thecontent providing apparatus, wherein: said content providing apparatuscomprises: image storage means for storing three-dimensional images forallowing customer desired content data desired by a customer to beselected out of a plurality of said content data; transmission requestreceiving means for receiving an image request sent from said contentobtaining apparatus; image sending means for sending saidthree-dimensional images to said content obtaining apparatus in responseto said image request; preview request receiving means for receiving apreview request which was sent from said content obtaining apparatusaccording to the display state of said three-dimensional images; anddata sending means for sending preview data based on said content datacorresponding to said preview request to said content obtainingapparatus; and said content obtaining apparatus comprises: input meansfor entering various operational commands; image request sending meansfor sending said image request to said content providing apparatus inresponse to an image request command entered via said input means; imagereceiving means for receiving said three-dimensional images which aresent from said content providing apparatus in response to said imagerequest; display control means for displaying said three-dimensionalimages on a prescribed display means and changing the display state ofsaid three-dimensional image according to display state changingcommands entered via said input means; preview request sending means forsending said preview request to said content providing apparatusaccording to the display state of said three-dimensional imagesdisplayed on said display means; data receiving means for receiving saidpreview data which was sent from said content providing apparatus inresponse to said preview request; and reproducing means for reproducingsaid preview data.
 60. The content providing system according to claim59, wherein: said image storage means stores said three-dimensionalimages including a human image representing a person movable; saiddisplay control means changes the position of said human image in saidthree-dimensional images according to said display state changingcommands entered via said input means; said preview request sendingmeans sends said preview request to said content providing apparatusaccording to said position of said human image in said three-dimensionalimages.
 61. The content providing/obtaining system according to claim60, wherein said reproducing means reproduces by streaming said previewdata sent from said content providing apparatus in response to saidpreview request.
 62. The content providing/obtaining system according toclaim 61, wherein said data sending means sends said preview data havinga reproduction time shorter than the reproduction time of said contentdata corresponding to said preview request, to said content obtainingapparatus.
 63. The content providing/obtaining system according to claim61, wherein said reproducing means performs fade-in processing orfade-out processing; and then streaming reproduction on said previewdata sent from said content providing apparatus according to saidpreview request.
 64. The content providing/obtaining system according toclaim 59, wherein: said image storage means stores saidthree-dimensional images including selection items for content previewrequests; said display control means changes the display state of saidselection items in said three-dimensional images according to saiddisplay state changing commands entered via said input means; and saidpreview request sending means sends said preview request to said contentproviding apparatus according to the display state of said selectionitems in said three-dimensional images.
 65. The contentproviding/obtaining system according to claim 64, wherein said previewrequest sending means sends said preview request indicating the genre ofsaid content data, the artist of said content based on the content dataand/or the title of said Content data to said content providingapparatus according to the display state of said selection items in saidthree-dimensional images.
 66. The content providing/obtaining systemaccording to claim 64, wherein: said content obtaining apparatuscomprises recording means for recording said preview data received bysaid data receiving means on a storage medium; and said reproducingmeans reproduces said preview data from said storage medium.
 67. Thecontent providing/obtaining system according to claim 64, wherein saidreproducing means reproduces by streaming said preview data sent fromsaid content providing apparatus in response to said preview request.68. A content providing/obtaining method for obtaining content dataprovided from a content providing apparatus with a content obtainingapparatus, wherein: said content providing apparatus comprises: thetransmission request receiving step of receiving an image request sentfrom said content obtaining apparatus; the image sending step of sendingthree-dimensional images for allowing customer desired content datadesired by a customer to be selected out of a plurality of said contentdata, to said content obtaining apparatus in response to said imagerequest; the preview request receiving step of receiving a previewrequest sent from said content obtaining apparatus according to thedisplay state of said three-dimensional images; and the data sendingstep of sending preview data of content based on said content datacorresponding to said preview request, to said content obtainingapparatus; and said content obtaining apparatus comprises: the imagerequest sending step of sending said image request to said contentproviding apparatus according to an image request command entered via aninput means for entering various operational commands; the imagereceiving step of receiving said three-dimensional images which are sentfrom said content providing apparatus in response to said image request;the display control step of displaying said three-dimensional images ona prescribed display means and changing the display state of saidthree-dimensional images according to display state changing commandsentered via said input means; the preview request sending step ofsending said preview request to said content providing apparatusaccording to the display state of said three-dimensional imagesdisplayed on said display means; the data receiving step of receivingsaid preview data which was sent from said content providing apparatusin response to said preview request; and the reproducing step ofreproducing said preview data.
 69. The content providing/obtainingmethod according to claim 68, wherein: said image sending step sendssaid three-dimensional images including a human image indicating aperson movable, to said content obtaining apparatus in response to saidimage request; said display control step changes the position of saidhuman image in said three-dimensional images according to said displaystate changing commands entered via said input means; and said previewrequest sending step sends said preview request to said contentproviding apparatus according to said position of said human image insaid three-dimensional images.
 70. The content providing/obtainingmethod according to claim 69, wherein said reproducing step reproducesby streaming said preview data which was sent from said contentproviding apparatus in response to said preview request.
 71. The contentproviding/obtaining method according to claim 70, wherein said datasending step sends said preview data having a reproduction time shorterthan the reproduction time of said content data corresponding to saidpreview request, to said content obtaining apparatus.
 72. The contentproviding/obtaining method according to claim 70, wherein saidreproducing means performs fade-in processing and/or fade-outprocessing, and then streaming reproduction on said preview data whichwas sent from said content providing apparatus in response to saidpreview request.
 73. The content providing/obtaining method according toclaim 68, wherein: said image sending step sends said three-dimensionalimages including selection items for content preview requests to saidcontent obtaining apparatus in response to said image request; saiddisplay control step changes the display state of said selection itemsin said three-dimensional images according to said display statechanging commands entered via said input means; and said preview requestsending step sends said preview request to said content providingapparatus according to the display state of said selection items in saidthree-dimensional images.
 74. The content providing/obtaining methodaccording to claim 73, wherein said preview request sending step sendssaid preview request indicating the genre of said content data, theartist of said content based on the content data and/or the title ofsaid content data to said content providing apparatus according to thedisplay state of said selection items in said three-dimensional images.75. The content providing/obtaining method according to claim 73,wherein: said content obtaining apparatus comprises the recording stepof recording said preview data received by said data receiving step on astorage medium; and said reproducing step reproduces said preview datafrom said storage medium.
 76. The content providing/obtaining methodaccording to claim 73, wherein said reproducing step reproduces bystreaming said preview data which was sent from said content providingapparatus in response to said preview request.
 77. A content providingapparatus for providing content data to a content obtaining apparatus,comprising: image storage means for storing three-dimensional images forallowing customer desired content data desired by a customer to beselected out of a plurality of said content data; transmission requestreceiving means for receiving an image request sent from said contentobtaining apparatus; image sending means for sending saidthree-dimensional images to said content obtaining apparatus in responseto said image request; preview request receiving means for receiving apreview request which was sent from said content obtaining apparatusaccording to the display state of said three-dimensional images; anddata sending means for sending preview data of content based on saidcontent data corresponding to said preview request to said contentobtaining apparatus.
 78. The content providing apparatus according toclaim 77, wherein: said image storage means stores saidthree-dimensional images including a human image representing a personmovable; and said preview request receiving means receives said previewrequest which was sent from content providing apparatus according to theposition of said human image in said three-dimensional images displayedon a prescribed display means.
 79. The content providing apparatusaccording to claim 78, wherein said data sending means sends bystreaming said preview data to said content obtaining apparatus inresponse to said preview request which was sent from said contentproviding apparatus according to the position of said human image insaid three-dimensional images displayed on said display means.
 80. Thecontent providing apparatus according to claim 79, wherein said datasending means sends said preview data having a reproduction time shorterthan the reproduction time of said content data corresponding to saidpreview request, to said content obtaining apparatus.
 81. The contentproviding apparatus according to claim 77, wherein: said image storagemeans stores said three-dimensional images including selection items forcontent preview requests; and said preview request receiving meansreceives said preview request which was sent from said content obtainingapparatus according to the display state of said selection itemsin,said, three-dimensional images displayed on a prescribed displaymeans.
 82. The content providing apparatus according to claim 81,wherein said preview request receiving means receives said previewrequest indicating the genre of said content data, the artist of saidcontent based on the content data and/or the title of said content data,said preview request sent from said content obtaining apparatusaccording to the display state of said selection items in saidthree-dimensional images displayed on said display means.
 83. Thecontent providing apparatus according to claim 81, wherein said datasending means sends said preview data to said content obtainingapparatus by TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) inresponse to said preview request.
 84. The content providing apparatusaccording to claim 81, wherein said data sending means sends bystreaming said preview data to said content obtaining apparatus, inresponse to said preview request which was sent from said contentproviding apparatus according to the display state of said selectionitems in said three-dimensional images displayed on said display means.85. A content providing method for providing content data to a contentobtaining apparatus, comprising: the transmission request receiving stepof receiving an image request sent from said content obtainingapparatus; the image sending step of sending three-dimensional imagesfor allowing customer desired content data desired by a customer to beselected out of a plurality of said content data, to said contentobtaining apparatus in response to said image request; the previewrequest receiving step of receiving a preview request which was sentfrom said content obtaining apparatus according to the display state ofsaid three-dimensional images; and the data sending step of sendingpreview data of content based on said content data corresponding to saidpreview request, to said content obtaining apparatus.
 86. The contentproviding method according to claim 85, wherein: said image sending stepsends three-dimensional images including a human image representing aperson movable to said content obtaining apparatus in response to saidimage request; and said preview request receiving step receives saidpreview request which was sent from content providing apparatusaccording to the position of said human image in said three-dimensionalimages displayed on a prescribed display means.
 87. The contentproviding method according to claim 86, wherein said data sending meanssends by streaming said preview data to said content obtaining apparatusin response to said preview request which was sent from said contentproviding apparatus according to the position of said human image insaid three-dimensional images displayed on said display means.
 88. Thecontent providing method according to claim 87, wherein said datasending step sends said preview data having a reproduction time shorterthan the reproduction time of said content data corresponding to saidpreview request, to said content obtaining apparatus.
 89. The contentproviding method according to claim 85, wherein: said image sending stepsends three-dimensional images including selection items for contentpreview requests to said content obtaining apparatus in response to saidimage request; and said preview request receiving step receives saidpreview request which was sent from said content obtaining apparatusaccording to the display state of said selection items in saidthree-dimensional images displayed on a prescribed display means. 90.The content providing method according to claim 89, wherein said previewrequest receiving means receives said preview request indicating thegenre of said content data, the artist of said content based on thecontent data and/or the title of said content data, said preview requestsent from said content obtaining apparatus according to the displaystate of said selection items in said three-dimensional images displayedon said display means.
 91. The content providing method according toclaim 89, wherein said data sending means sends said preview data tosaid content obtaining apparatus by TCP/IP (Transmission ControlProtocol/Internet Protocol) in response to said preview request.
 92. Thecontent providing method according to claim 89, wherein said datasending means sends by streaming said preview data to said contentobtaining apparatus, in response to said preview request which was sentfrom said content providing apparatus according to the display state ofsaid selection items in said three-dimensional images displayed on saiddisplay means.
 93. A content providing program storage medium for makinga content providing apparatus execute a content providing programcomprising: the transmission request receiving step of receiving animage request sent from a content obtaining apparatus; the image sendingstep of sending three-dimensional images for allowing customer desiredcontent data desired by a customer to be selected out of a plurality ofsaid content data, to said content obtaining apparatus in response tosaid image request; the preview request receiving step of receiving apreview request which was sent from said content obtaining apparatusaccording to the display state of said three-dimensional images; and thedata sending step of sending preview data of content based on saidcontent data corresponding to said preview request, to said contentobtaining apparatus.
 94. The content providing program storage mediumaccording to claim 93, wherein: said image sending step sendsthree-dimensional images including a human image representing a personmovable to said content obtaining apparatus in response to said imagerequest; and said preview request receiving step receives said previewrequest which was sent from content providing apparatus according to theposition of said human image in said three-dimensional images displayedon a prescribed display means.
 95. The content providing program storagemedium according to claim 94, wherein said data sending step sends bystreaming said preview data to said content obtaining apparatus inresponse to said preview request which was sent from said contentproviding apparatus according to the position of said human image insaid three-dimensional images displayed on said display means.
 96. Thecontent providing program storage medium according to claim 95, whereinsaid data sending step sends said preview data having a reproductiontime shorter than the reproduction time of said content datacorresponding to said preview request, to said content obtainingapparatus.
 97. The content providing program storage medium according toclaim 93, wherein: said image sending step sends three-dimensionalimages including selection items for content preview requests to saidcontent obtaining apparatus in response to said image request; and saidpreview request receiving step receives said preview request which wassent from said content obtaining apparatus according to the displaystate of said selection items in said three-dimensional images displayedon a prescribed display means.
 98. The content providing program storagemedium according to claim 97, wherein said preview request receivingmeans receives said preview request indicating the genre of said contentdata, the artist of said content based on the content data and/or thetitle of said content data, said preview request sent from said contentobtaining apparatus according to the display state of said selectionitems of said three-dimensional images displayed on said display means.99. The content providing program storage medium according to claim 97,wherein said data sending means sends said preview data to said contentobtaining apparatus by TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/InternetProtocol) in response to said preview request.
 100. The contentproviding program storage medium according to claim 97, wherein saiddata sending means sends by streaming said preview data to said contentobtaining apparatus in response to said preview request which was sentfrom said content providing apparatus according to the display state ofsaid selection items in said three-dimensional images displayed on saiddisplay means.
 101. A content providing program for making a contentproviding apparatus execute: the transmission request receiving step ofreceiving an image request sent from said content obtaining apparatus;the image sending step of sending three-dimensional images for allowingcustomer desired content data desired by a customer to be selected outof a plurality of said content data, to said content obtaining apparatusin response to said image request; the preview request receiving step ofreceiving a preview request which was sent from said content obtainingapparatus according to the display state of said three-dimensionalimages; and the data sending step of sending preview data of contentbased on said content data corresponding to said preview request, tosaid content obtaining apparatus.
 102. The content providing programaccording to claim 101, wherein: said image sending step sendsthree-dimensional images including a human image representing a personmovable, to said content obtaining apparatus in response to said imagerequest; and said preview request receiving step receives said previewrequest which was sent from content providing apparatus according to theposition of said human image in said three-dimensional images displayedon a prescribed display means.
 103. The content providing programaccording to claim 102, wherein said data sending step sends bystreaming said preview data to said content obtaining apparatus inresponse to said preview request which was sent from said contentproviding apparatus according to the position of said human image insaid three-dimensional images displayed on said display means.
 104. Thecontent providing program according to claim 103, wherein said datasending step sends said preview data having a reproduction time shorterthan the reproduction time of said content data corresponding to saidpreview request, to said content obtaining apparatus.
 105. The contentproviding program according to claim 101, wherein: said image sendingstep sends three-dimensional images including selection items forcontent preview requests to said content obtaining apparatus in responseto said image request; and said preview request receiving step receivessaid preview request which was sent from said content obtainingapparatus according to the display state of said selection items in saidthree-dimensional images displayed on a prescribed display means. 106.The content providing program according to claim 105, wherein saidpreview request receiving step receives said preview request indicatingthe genre of said content data, the artist of said content based on thecontent data and/or the title of said content data, said preview requestsent from said content obtaining apparatus according to the displaystate of said selection items in said three-dimensional images displayedon said display means.
 107. The content providing program according toclaim 105, wherein said data sending step sends said preview data tosaid content obtaining apparatus by TCP/IP (Transmission ControlProtocol/Internet Protocol) in response to said preview request. 108.The content providing program according to claim 105, wherein said datasending step sends by streaming said preview data to said contentobtaining apparatus in response to said preview request which was sentfrom said content providing apparatus according to the display state ofsaid selection items in said three-dimensional images displayed on saiddisplay means.
 109. A content obtaining apparatus for obtaining saidcontent data provided from a content providing apparatus, comprising:input means for entering various operational commands; image requestsending means for sending an image request to said content providingapparatus according to image request commands entered via said inputmeans; image receiving means for receiving three-dimensional images forallowing customer desired content data desired by a customer to beselected out of a plurality of said content data, said three-dimensionalimages sent from said content providing apparatus in response to saidimage request; display control means for displaying saidthree-dimensional images on a prescribed display means and changing thedisplay state of said three-dimensional images according to displaystate changing commands entered via said input means; preview requestsending means for sending a preview request according to the displaystate of said three-dimensional images displayed on said display means,to said content providing apparatus; data receiving means for receivingpreview data of content based on said content data corresponding to saidpreview request, said preview data sent from said content providingapparatus in response to the preview request; and reproducing means forreproducing said preview data.
 110. The content obtaining apparatusaccording to claim 109, wherein: said image receiving means receivessaid three-dimensional images including a human image representing aperson movable, the three-dimensional images sent from said contentproviding apparatus in response to said image request; said displaycontrol means changes the position of said human image in saidthree-dimensional images according to said display state changingcommands entered via said input means; and said preview request sendingmeans sends said preview request to said content providing apparatusaccording to said position of said human image in said three-dimensionalimages.
 111. The content obtaining apparatus according to claim 110,wherein said reproducing means reproduces by streaming said preview datawhich was sent from said content providing apparatus in response to saidpreview request.
 112. The content obtaining apparatus according to claim111, wherein said reproducing means performs fade-in processing and/orfade-out processing, and then streaming reproduction on said previewdata sent from said content providing apparatus in response to saidpreview request.
 113. The content obtaining apparatus according to claim109, wherein: said image receiving means receives said three-dimensionalimages including selection items for content preview requests, saidthree-dimensional images sent from said content providing apparatus inresponse to said image request; said display control means changes thedisplay state of said selection items in said three-dimensional imagesaccording to said display state changing commands entered via said inputmeans; and said preview request sending means sends said preview requestaccording to the display state of said selection items in saidthree-dimensional images to said content providing apparatus.
 114. Thecontent obtaining apparatus according to claim 113, wherein said previewrequest sending means sends said preview request indicating the genre ofsaid content data, the artist of said content based on the content data,and/or the title of said content data, according to the display state ofsaid three-dimensional images to said content providing apparatus. 115.The content obtaining apparatus according to claim 113, comprisingrecording means for recording said preview data received by said datareceiving means, on a storage medium, wherein said reproducing meansreproduces said preview data from said storage medium.
 116. The contentobtaining apparatus according to claim 113, wherein said reproducingmeans reproduces by streaming said preview data which was sent from saidcontent providing apparatus in response to said preview request.
 117. Acontent obtaining method for obtaining said content data provided from acontent providing apparatus, comprising: the image request sending stepof sending an image request to said content providing apparatusaccording to an image request command entered via an input means forinputting various operational commands; the image receiving step ofreceiving three-dimensional images for allowing customer desired contentdata desired by a customer to be selected out of a plurality of saidcontent data, said three-dimensional images sent from said contentproviding apparatus in response to said image request; the displaycontrol step of displaying said three-dimensional images on a prescribeddisplay means and changing the display state of said three-dimensionalimages according to, display state changing commands entered via saidinput means; the preview request sending step of sending to said contentproviding apparatus a preview request according to the display state ofsaid three-dimensional images displayed on said display means; the datareceiving step of receiving preview data of content based on saidcontent data corresponding to said preview request, said preview datasent from said content providing apparatus in response to said previewrequest; and the reproducing step of reproducing said preview data. 118.The content obtaining method according to claim 117, wherein: said imagereceiving step receives said three-dimensional images including a humanimage representing a person movable, said three-dimensional images sentfrom said content providing apparatus in response to said image request;said display control means changes the position of said human image insaid three-dimensional images according to said display state changingcommands entered via said input means; and said preview request sendingmeans sends said preview request according to the position of said humanimage in said three-dimensional images to said content providingapparatus.
 119. The content obtaining method according to claim 118,wherein said reproducing step reproduces by streaming said preview datawhich was sent from said content providing apparatus in response to saidpreview request.
 120. The content obtaining method according to claim119, wherein said reproducing step performs fade-in processing and/orfade-out processing, and then streaming reproduction on said previewdata which was sent from said content providing apparatus in response tosaid preview request.
 121. The content obtaining method according toclaim 117, wherein: said image receiving step receives saidthree-dimensional images including selection items for content previewrequests, said three-dimensional images sent from said content providingapparatus in response to said image request; said display control stepchanges the display state of said selection items in saidthree-dimensional images according to said display state changingcommands entered via said input means; and said preview request sendingstep sends said preview request according to the display state of saidselection items in said three-dimensional images to said contentproviding apparatus.
 122. The content obtaining method according toclaim 121, wherein said preview request sending step sends said previewrequest indicating the genre of said content data, the artist of saidcontent based on the content data, and/or the title of said contentdata, according to the display state of said three-dimensional images tosaid content providing apparatus.
 123. The content obtaining methodaccording to claim 121, comprising: the recording step of recording saidpreview data received by said data receiving means, on a storage medium,wherein said reproducing step reproduces said preview data from saidstorage medium.
 124. The content obtaining method according to claim121, wherein said reproducing step reproduces by streaming said previewdata which was sent from said content providing apparatus in response tosaid preview request.
 125. A content obtaining program storage mediumfor making a content obtaining apparatus execute a content obtainingprogram comprising: the image request sending step of sending an imagerequest to said content providing apparatus according to an imagerequest command entered via an input means for entering variousoperational commands; the image receiving step of receivingthree-dimensional images for allowing customer desired content datadesired by a customer to be selected out of a plurality of said contentdata, said three-dimensional images sent from said content providingapparatus in response to said image request; the display control step ofdisplaying said three-dimensional images on a prescribed display meansand changing the display state of said three-dimensional imagesaccording to display state changing commands entered via said inputmeans; the preview request sending step of sending to said contentproviding apparatus a preview request according to the display state ofsaid three-dimensional images displayed on said display means; the datareceiving step of receiving preview data of content based on saidcontent data corresponding to said preview request, said preview datasent from said content providing apparatus in response to said previewrequest; and the reproducing step of reproducing said preview data. 126.The content obtaining program storage medium according to claim 125,wherein: said image receiving step receives said three-dimensionalimages including a human image representing a person movable, saidthree-dimensional images sent from said content providing apparatus inresponse to said image request; said display control means changes theposition of said human image in said three-dimensional images accordingto said display state changing commands entered via said input means;and said preview request sending means sends said preview requestaccording to the position of said human image in said three-dimensionalimages, to said content providing apparatus.
 127. The content obtainingprogram storage medium according to claim 126, wherein said reproducingstep reproduces by streaming said preview data which was sent from saidcontent providing apparatus in response to said preview request. 128.The content obtaining program storage medium according to claim 127,wherein said reproducing step performs fade-in processing and/orfade-out processing, and then streaming reproduction on said previewdata which was sent from said content providing apparatus in response tosaid preview request.
 129. The content obtaining program storage mediumaccording to claim 125, wherein: said image receiving step receives saidthree-dimensional images including selection items for content previewrequests, said three-dimensional images sent from said content providingapparatus in response to said image request; said display control stepchanges the display state of said selection items in saidthree-dimensional images according to said display state changingcommands entered via said input means; and said preview request sendingstep sends said preview request according to the display state of saidselection items in said three-dimensional images, to said contentproviding apparatus.
 130. The content obtaining program storage mediumaccording to claim 129, wherein said preview request sending step sendssaid preview request indicating the genre of said content data, theartist of said content based on the content data, and/or the title ofsaid content data, according to the display state of saidthree-dimensional images to said content providing apparatus.
 131. Thecontent obtaining program storage medium according to claim 129,comprising the recording step of recording said preview data received bysaid data receiving step, on a storage medium, wherein said reproducingstep reproduces said preview data from said storage medium.
 132. Thecontent obtaining program storage medium according to claim 129, whereinsaid reproducing means reproduces by streaming said preview data whichwas sent from said content providing apparatus in response to saidpreview request.
 133. A content obtaining program for making a contentobtaining apparatus execute: the image request sending step of sendingan image request to said content providing apparatus according to animage request command entered via an input means for entering variousoperational commands; the image receiving step of receivingthree-dimensional images for allowing customer desired content datadesired by a customer to be selected out of a plurality of said contentdata, said three-dimensional images sent from said content providingapparatus in response to said image request; the display control step ofdisplaying said three-dimensional images on a prescribed display meansand changing the display state of said three-dimensional imagesaccording to display state changing commands entered via said inputmeans; the preview request sending step of sending to said contentproviding apparatus a preview request according to the display state ofsaid three-dimensional images displayed on said display means; the datareceiving step of receiving preview data of content based on saidcontent data corresponding to said preview request, said preview datasent from said content providing apparatus in response to said previewrequest; and the reproducing step of reproducing said preview data. 134.The content obtaining program according to claim 133, wherein: saidimage receiving step receives said three-dimensional images including ahuman image representing a person movable, said three-dimensional imagessent from said content providing apparatus in response to said imagerequest; said display control means changes the position of said humanimage in said three-dimensional images according to said display statechanging commands entered via said input means; and said preview requestsending means sends said preview request according to the position ofsaid human image in said three-dimensional images to said contentproviding apparatus.
 135. The content obtaining program according toclaim 134, wherein said reproducing step reproduces by streaming saidpreview data which was sent from said content providing apparatus inresponse to said preview request.
 136. The content obtaining programaccording to claim 135, wherein said reproducing step performs fade-inprocessing and/or fade-out processing, and then streaming reproductionon said preview data which was sent from said content providingapparatus in response to said preview request.
 137. The contentobtaining program according to claim 133, wherein: said image receivingstep receives said three-dimensional images including selection itemsfor content preview requests, said three-dimensional images sent fromsaid content providing apparatus in response to said image request; saiddisplay control step changes the display state of said selection itemsin said three-dimensional images according to said display statechanging commands entered via said input means; and said preview requestsending step sends said preview request according to the display stateof said selection items in said three-dimensional images to said contentproviding apparatus.
 138. The content obtaining program according toclaim 137, wherein said preview request sending step sends said previewrequest indicating the genre of said content data, the artist of saidcontent based on the content data, and/or the title of said contentdata, according to the display state of said three-dimensional images tosaid content providing apparatus.
 139. The content obtaining programaccording to claim 137, comprising the recording step of recording saidpreview data received by said data receiving step, on a storage medium,wherein said reproducing step reproduces said preview data from saidstorage medium.
 140. The content obtaining program according to claim137, wherein said reproducing step reproduces by streaming said previewdata which was sent from said content providing apparatus in response tosaid preview request.